A Mississippi governor is seeking approval for a $10 billion investment in two hyperscale data center developments in Canton and wider Madison County.
Republican Governor Tate Reeves called a special session to discuss the opportunity on January 25, hoping to finalize the project.
The development will see two hyperscale data centers developed on two industrial parks in Madison County, one of which is in Canton. Madison County is located north of the state capital, Jackson City.
Expected to represent a $10 billion investment, the data center projects are also anticipated to create around 1,000 jobs with a salary of at least 125 percent of the average state wage.
Reeves said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the "new economic development project will shatter records by billions of dollars."
“It’s truly a monumental day for Madison County, for metro Jackson, and for the state of Mississippi,” Reeves said in a January 24 news conference. “It is truly a testament to the people of Mississippi that major companies are choosing our state for innovative jobs just like these. It is further proof that our state is doing what it needs to do to drive further economic growth and position Mississippi as a national leader in innovation.”
The state is being asked to provide $44 million in pure appropriations - $32 million of which will be for workforce training - and to loan $215.1 million to the county, the vast majority of which will go to the extension of a sewer system.
Regarding tax breaks, Reeves said: "The tax breaks that are included in this specific deal are not different than the data center tax breaks that are already in statute basically. Those commitments will include a 10-year, 100 percent corporate income tax exemption, sales and use tax incentive good for construction and for any investment made 12 months post-construction. We’re going to do a 90 percent rebate on the contractor’s tax and the sales and use tax equipment for the facilities’ perpetuity.”
According to Reeves, the name of the hyperscaler will be shared once the 'special session' is completed. SuperTalk Mississippi News reports that the company is likely Amazon Web Services (AWS), but the company is yet to comment.
Current timelines suggest the data centers are aiming to open in 2027. Details about the size and capacity of the data centers have yet to be shared.
Mississippi approved another significant economic development project last week which would see the state provide incentives of at least $350 million plus tax breaks to lure a project to manufacture batteries to power electric commercial vehicles to Marshall County near the Tennessee border.
This project passed with a majority of votes, though Democrats lamented the fact that these projects are not being developed in the impoverished areas of the state such as the Delta region. Madison County, where the data center developments are being proposed, has the highest per capita income in the state of Mississippi.
The special session will be hosted at 9:30 am CST, and can be watched live.
