Mississippi’s largest economic development project breaks ground

Special to The Canton News 

Madison County Economic Development Authority (MCEDA) recently announced that Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS) is constructing multiple data center campuses in two Madison County industrial parks. With a planned capital investment of $10 billion, AWS is the largest economic development project in Mississippi’s history. Additionally, the company will create at least 1,000 new jobs in Madison County.

The new technology-centered campuses will signal a new chapter in Madison County’s technological landscape.

MCEDA and Madison County say they have strategically prepared its sites over the past five-plus years for speed-to-market, allowing the County to land this economic development project. They say the county is an ideal space for technological development and its forward-thinking approach, as showcased by the County’s readiness for AWS.

AWS is the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud. These data centers will enable customers of all sizes and across all industries, such as healthcare, manufacturing, automotive, financial services, public sector, telecom and more to transform their businesses. Millions of customers—including the fastest-growing startups, largest enterprises, and leading government agencies—are using AWS to lower costs, become more agile and innovate faster. The new data centers will contain computer servers, data storage drives, networking equipment, and other forms of technology infrastructure used to power cloud computing.

Governor Tate Reeves said, ““Mississippi has done it again. This record-shattering $10 billion private sector investment will not only create 1,000 high-tech, high-paying jobs for Mississippians, but it will result in our state remaining at the forefront of innovation. Mississippi is building a business climate that is ripe for further growth, especially in the technology sector. On top of that, we’re doing what it takes to prepare our workforce to take on these high-paying jobs of the future. There really is something special happening here in Mississippi, and the world is noticing.” 

Madison County Board of Supervisors President Gerald Steen said, “As the largest capital investment in the state’s history, this is an extraordinary win for Madison County and all of Mississippi. The quality planning and preparedness of Madison County and my colleagues at the Board of Supervisors have put into economic development allowed us to achieve a win of this size. We, the Board of Supervisors, are grateful for the work of MCEDA, the Business League and all our partners who worked to land this project. This project will continue to take Madison County to the next level.”