Tennessee economic development officials want the state to pour another $72 million into a sprawling site that failed to land a new auto plant planned by a joint venture of Toyota and Mazda.
The Jackson Sun reports that the Memphis Regional Megasite has already received about $144 million in state funding. But Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bob Rolfe says the extra money is needed for wastewater, electrical, gas, water and railroad improvements to make the site spanning nearly 6.5 square miles (17 square kilometers) ready for prospective investors.
Rolfe says those updates would make the site located about 45 miles (73 kilometers) from downtown Memphis "shovel ready." It was that lack of finishing touches that led to the Toyota-Mazda decision to build a $1.6 billion plant elsewhere.
