By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

CONVENT — State and local officials joined representatives from Nucor Corp. Monday to officially announce construction of the first phase of a long-awaited multi-phase steel and iron manufacturing facility in Convent that, if completed, will be one of the largest industrial projects in the state’s history.

In an open field formerly home to sugar cane crop, Gov. Bobby Jindal, State Economic Development Secretary Stephen Moret, St. James Parish President Dale Hymel and various Nucor officials ceremoniously broke ground on land that will be used for a direct reduced iron, or DRI, facility – the first in a five-phase capital project worth more than $3.4 billion.

The Jindal administration, along with various state and parish leaders, had been targeting the North Carolina steel manufacturer to bring the facility to the state for more than three years. Nucor had looked at alternate sites across the country and across the globe before settling on the 4,000-acre site south of Louisiana 70 in Convent.

“Nucor’s decision to come to Louisiana is a tremendous victory for Louisianans and sends yet another signal that our state is the best place for businesses to locate, grow and succeed,” Jindal said in a statement. “The Nucor project will be a tremendous economic boost for Southeast Louisiana and our entire state for years to come.”

Jindal said the DRI facility represents a $750 million capital investment that is expected to produce 500 construction jobs, 150 permanent jobs and average salary figures of around $75,000. He added that by the end of the five-phase plan, which includes an additional reduced iron facility, a pellet plant, a blast furnace and coke oven and an eventual steel mill, the facility would add 1,250 direct jobs and another 4,800 indirect jobs to the local economy.

Jindal said state economists estimate the facility could generate more than $560 million in new tax revenue, which includes more than $122 million for St. James Parish alone.

“We are excited to be getting our DRI project underway and to bring good manufacturing jobs to Louisiana,” said Nucor Chairman and CEO Dan DiMicco in a statement.

To secure the project, the state Department of Economic Development offered Nucor a $160 million incentive package spanning six years with the agreement that all five phases are started on time. Nucor is also taking advantage of more than $600 million in Gulf Opportunity Zone Bonds to help with construction. All phases must be initiated by 2015 for Nucor to receive the full value of the incentive package.

The DRI facility refines raw iron ore into pure iron by removing an assortment of contaminants through a heating and cooling process fueled by natural gas. The plant will create 2.5 million tons of iron annually for Nucor’s steel mills across the country. DiMicco said direct reduced iron supplements scrap metal the company uses to make various steel products.

DiMicco said construction will begin “ASAP” and added Nucor is in it for the long haul. He said the company intends to build all five phases of the project despite the current U.S. economy.

Hymel reiterated his enthusiasm Thursday regarding the project and applauded the work of the state in bringing the facility to the area.

“As a community, we cannot measure how great of an opportunity this is for both St. James Parish and Louisiana,” Hymel said. “One of my goals has always been to attract more businesses and new development to the parish and this is part of our immediate plan to provide more opportunity for our residents.”