Gov. Mike Beebe on Monday announced a new initiative to market what he called "mega sites," large-acreage sites that can attract major manufacturers who need significant space and resources.
Beebe joined Arkansas Economic Development Commission Executive Director Grant Tennille at the state Capitol to announce the sites, which are formally known as Advance Arkansas Sites.
Two of the sites have been identified so far and are listed on a state website in the hopes of attracting a project for them: one in Saline County with more than 2,000 acres of land available and one in West Memphis with about 1,400 acres of land.
"This gives us the option to pursue some larger projects that in the past we weren't ready to pursue," Tennille said, saying landing a project such as a major manufacturer or an auto plant would be a "huge" economic development.
Tennille said the push to ready more mega sites developed after looking for a space for Big River Steel and finding "we didn't have enough and we needed communities to step up to the task of providing us larger sites." That project ultimately went to Osceola in Mississippi County.
Tennille didn't go into specifics about what could be coming to one of the mega sites or whether an announcement was likely soon, but he said they're designed for "major industrial projects."
"There are always negotiations ongoing," he said.
Beebe and Tennille said it's possible more sites will be added. The two communities chosen so far spent "several thousand dollars" to develop and qualify their sites, officials said.