That’s why we’re making a $600 million investment in the community. We are cleaning up a 70-year-old brownfield industrial site, home of the former Reynolds Metals plant, to build an import-export terminal.
We chose Longview as our home because it’s a transportation hub with exceptional access to water, rail and highway routes. Our site offers the geographical advantage of efficient access to the world via ship channels that are ideal for export operations.
We leased the former Reynolds property well aware that it had been an aluminum smelting facility for many years. We agreed to clean up the site, recognizing its potential as an environmentally responsible, expanded bulk materials port terminal.
We are proud of our plan to create hundreds of jobs in Cowlitz County. As many as 2,650 jobs will be created during the construction period. And, once fully operational, our proposed coal export terminal will create 135 fulltime family-wage jobs, with additional employment resulting from the importing and exporting of other bulk materials.
This project also generates sorely needed tax dollars. During construction, we expect to generate more than $45 million in tax revenue. Once completed and operational, Millennium will continue providing nearly $5.25 million in state and local tax revenue each year.
But our commitment to growing jobs and expanding trade doesn’t stop there.
Millennium is eager to partner with the likes of the Washington Council on International Trade, Washington State Farm Bureau and other organizations and businesses in an effort to expand and strengthen our state’s trade economy. Together, we’re part of Move Forward Washington, a coalition dedicated to promoting economic growth through international trade between Washington businesses and the rest of the world.
Move Forward Washington is committed to explaining how Washington benefits when we focus on creating a business environment that encourages international trade. Elected officials and other key decision makers need to know why trade matters to businesses and families in Washington state.
We can turn Washington state’s trade leadership into the foundation for a prosperous, more vibrant and enduring local economy.
At Millennium, we’re proud to be part of the community in Cowlitz County – many of our workers were born here and have worked here their entire lives. And Longview, like the rest of Washington state, is part of the big trade picture. Simply put: trade matters to Washington.
Together, we can realize Longview’s great natural promise as a thriving global port, building a prosperous future that enhances Washington’s international trade leadership and creates local jobs.
Ken Miller is the president and chief executive officer of Millennium Bulk Terminals-Longview LLC. He joined the company in August 2011.
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