Bibb County, Ga., on Slate for Major New Industrial Plant

Bibb County is one of three sites an international manufacturer is considering for a new plant that could create as many as 70 jobs, an economic development official said Monday.

The company, known by code name "Project Walden," is looking to build a 250,000- to 300,000-square-foot building, said Pat Topping, senior vice president of the Macon Economic Development Commission. Code names are used for companies during the negotiation process.

The company expects to make a $50 million to $70 million investment and create 50 to 70 new jobs, Topping said.

One other location in Georgia is being considered by the company, as well as a site in another southeastern state, Topping said during Monday's Macon-Bibb County Development Authority meeting. He said he has been working with the company since May.

"The company will have supervisors (who) will make from $75,000 to $100,000 a year," he said. "People on the low end (of the salary range) would make from $22,000 to $25,000 a year."

The authority agreed to offer the company a special tax schedule for its real and personal property. The tax schedule would have to be approved by the Bibb County Commission.

(c) 2005 Associated Press