GO Zone funds put aside for Project Tiger

MONTGOMERY -- Gov. Bob Riley is putting aside $300 million from the federal GO Zone industrial development bond authority to assist Project Tiger in Colbert County.

There is, however, one catch.

At this point, Colbert County and the Shoals do not qualify for the GO Zone money, which was established to help areas devastated by Hurricanes Rita and Katrina in 2005.

The money can be used to provide incentives and low-interest rates for industries and businesses that open operations in affected areas of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.

The coverage area will have to be expanded in Washington before the Shoals and Project Tiger can benefit from the money.

Project Tiger is the code name given to a project that has eyes on the Shoals for a railcar manufacturing operation. Company officials, who say 1,500-plus workers will be needed, have said the Barton Riverfront Industrial Park matches their needs.

Officials in Montgomery who have direct knowledge of the project say an official announcement on the project is expected this month.

Project Tiger, since the ThyssenKrupp steel plant landed in Mobile County, is now the state's largest known industrial project.

Alabama's allotment from the GO Zone legislation was originally $2.1 billion. About $800 million remains, but Riley has promised $300 million of that for Project Tiger.

That means about $500 million in bond authority funds remain from the allotment. The state has about $1.5 billion in requests for other projects.

"I hope they get it,'' said state Sen. Roger Bedford, D-Russellville, who represents part of Colbert County.

Only 11 Alabama counties are now eligible to use GO Zone bonds. GO Zone is short for Gulf Opportunity Zone.

U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer, D-Ala., of Huntsville, is trying to get the 2005 federal law changed to legalize bonds for Project Tiger, according to state Finance Director Jim Main.

Cramer's office didn't respond to a request for information about the issue.

Main said an argument can be made that Colbert County should be approved for GO Zone bond authority since Tishomingo County in Mississippi, which is just west of Colbert, is a GO Zone-approved county.

"The whole purpose of this economic development is so that the whole western area of the state will benefit from the project in Colbert County,'' Main said.

If Cramer can get the law changed, Riley, in all likelihood, will approve the $300 million for the project.

If not, the $300 million will revert back to the bonding authority. State and local governments would then have to come up with the $300 million needed to land Project Tiger.

Alabama Power Co. and rural electric co-ops have another $300 million in requests, Main said.

With or without Project Tiger, Riley has to decide who gets the remaining $500 million in bond authority.

"Hopefully, in the next week or 10 days, Gov. Riley will make a decision on that,'' Main said.

The $1.5 billion in requests include $255 million in Tuscaloosa projects and hundreds of millions of dollars in requests in Mobile and other counties. Tuscaloosa County already has received approval for $155 million in projects, which doesn't count the additional $255 million requested.

Main said Alabama's priorities for GO Zone bond authority are to replace or repair damaged public property, including utilities, followed by industrial development. He said the first priority has largely been accomplished, leaving bonding authority for industrial development.

He said Riley has choices in determining the remaining projects.

They include taking applications on a first-come, first-served basis, prorating the amount of requests and approving only part of each, or determining which projects create the best economic opportunities.

Dana Beyerle can be reached at (334) 264-6605 or dtb12345@aol.com.