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Biofuels of Helena-West Helena, Arkansas - June 2008
Re: RBE Arkansas Makes Progress on Financial Package
HELENA-WEST HELENA-While it may not be time to start a party, members of the Phillips County Port Authority can finally start considering the design of the invitations after Executive Director Martin Chaffin reported that RBE Arkansas has a firm offer to finance the entirety of its proposed $1.8 billion facility planned for the Helena Harbor.
Chaffin, while upbeat, remained cautiously optimistic. He said, "While nothing is ever certain until the names are on the dotted line and the money changes hands, I can honestly say this month has seen significant progress. Rod Miller, the leader of the RBE Arkansas project, has two firm financing packages to choose from. Board Member Henry Richmond and I were a part of a recent conference call on the matter. This represents a significant leap forward after months of negotiations."
RBE Arkansas has been working with the Port Authority for over a year. Its proposal calls for a facility that will produce food grade products for assorted manufacturers, biofuels, and fish pellets from the byproducts. The plans also call for the construction of a power plant at the site to provide some of the facility's electricity. Construction of the facility will be done in three phases at a cost of approximately $1.8 billion. Estimates call for 2500 construction jobs over the next four years if final approval is given to the financing package.
Chaffin said, "This has been a tedious process involving representatives from overseas hedge funds. However, the outlook is bright concerning this project. We are getting cooperation from state economic development officials and the principal players are all coming together. Anything can happen, but this has the potential to be a gamechanger for the Delta region."
While RBE's proposed project dominated the discussion, other prospects continue to remain interested in the Port's facilities as well. A steel fabricator from Mississippi plans to make another visit to the site soon and has indicated to Chaffin that the Helena Harbor has all of the infrastructure it needs for its operation. Chaffin reported that the prospect is serious about the Helena location and that he has started working with state economic development officials on incentives that would be appropriate for this kind of project. He indicated that the facility, if constructed, would have at least 50 permanent jobs.
Also remaining interested in the Helena Harbor is an automobile company considering an automobile assembly plant at the harbor. Chaffin reported that the group has been contacted by a firm in India about the possibility of manufacturing a car for their company.
Chaffin closed by saying how upbeat he felt about the prospects for the Port Authority. He said, "We have labored so long and expended so much energy building this facility. We are near a breakthrough. If things continue as planned, we could see the entire regional economy reshaped by the activity in Phillips County."
In other business, Board Members are still considering an initiative first proposed by Board Member Todd Stewart to solicit proposals from individuals and firms who are experts in managing, marketing, and evaluating port facilities. While Stewart's original proposal was rejected by the Board, a meeting between him, Board Member Charles Sibley, and Board Member Jim Frazier led to Frazier's offering of a compromise proposal with some minor modifications that will be voted on at the Port's July meeting.
