BLUE SPRINGS – Toyota will build Corolla compact cars at its plant in Blue Springs in northeast Mississippi.
The announcement came Thursday from Toyota in Tokyo and from Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour.
Barbour, in a statement, says Toyota was fulfilling a promise to resume construction on the plant. He said Mississippians “had good reason to keep our faith in them.”
Toyota officials planned a celebration later Thursday at the plant site.
Toyota plans to begin production at the Blue Springs facility in the fall of 2011. When complete, the facility will employ approximately 2,000 individuals.
Toyota first announced its plans to build at the 1,700-acre site in Blue Springs, near Tupelo, Miss., in 2007 with production to begin in 2010. Economic conditions postponed the work.
The state committed $294 million to the project to assist with site preparation, infrastructure and training.
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