Ground has been broken at the largest economic development project in Mississippi history.
The recently announced and approved $10 billion investment into Madison County by Amazon Web Services is the single largest private sector investment in the state. AWS will establish multiple data center complexes in two Madison County industrial parks — one in Canton and the other in Ridgeland — with at least 1,000 high-tech, high-paying jobs being created for Mississippians.
“It’s hard to put into words just how important today is to the future of Mississippi. It’s truly a watershed moment in Mississippi economic development history, and I’m proud of the massive impact this project will have on our state,” Governor Tate Reeves said.
“In recent years, we’ve seen multiple record-breaking private sector investments, we’ve reached historic new heights when it comes to education, and we’ve worked hard to train our workforce for the jobs of the next 50 years. This record-shattering investment from Amazon Web Services will continue to ignite further economic growth and drive our state forward. The future of Mississippi is bright, and the only day better than today is tomorrow.”
Kevin Miller, vice president of AWS Global Data Centers, added that the cloud computing service provider will not stop with the two centers in central Mississippi. He added that the company will be bringing six special projects to the state as a means of giving back to the community and providing education opportunities to train the future of Mississippi’s workforce.
- Amazon Community Workforce Accelerator at the Madison County megasite — training center to support careers in cloud-computing infrastructure.
- $200,000 worth of equipment to be donated to elementary and middle schools in Madison, Canton, and Jackson public schools to equip students with a tech-based education.
- Fiberoptic certification courses at Hinds and Holmes community colleges as well as education opportunities at other colleges and nonprofit organizations in the state.
- $250,000 community grant fund to support projects that benefit the greater Jackson area
- Girls tech series — free learning opportunities for women interested in pursuing a career in science, engineering, arts, and mathematics.
- “Think Big” space in Jackson — a facility for students to explore and cultivate an interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics with hands-on, lab-based education.
(Photo by SuperTalk Mississippi News)
AWS will also work to provide renewable energy in Mississippi. In partnership with Entergy, AWS will bring 650 megawatts of new renewable energy projects over the next three years. A plan to add 1.3 gigawatts of carbon-free energy in Mississippi solar and wind farming projects is also in the works.
“From all of the construction workers that will help build these facilities, to the electricians that will help wire the miles and miles of electrical cables, to all the maintenance teams that will help keep them running at peak efficiency, this project is estimated to add an additional $3.3 billion to Mississippi’s GDP,” Miller said. “As we do all of that and we grow, we want to do that sustainably.
The AWS centers are expected to be completed in Mississippi within the next five to seven years.
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