Gov. Mike Pence, who campaigned as a champion of jobs creation, disappointed those who envision opportunity for Southern Indiana development last week with his decision to put the brakes on $1.3 billion in Indiana-issued bonds for a jobs rich Pakistani-sponsored fertilizer plant in Posey County.
Republican Pence said he would not be comfortable until changes in the processes of the Pakistani company are tested by United States officials. Meanwhile, the Pakistani company, the Fatima Group, working through Midwest Fertilizer Co., says it will explore options to keep the project alive in Southern Indiana, reports Courier & Press staff writer Susan Orr.
The company has planned all along to build the major nitrogen fertilizer plant at the Port at Mount Vernon. In return for the assistance, Midwest Fertilizer Corp. had promised 2,500 construction jobs and more than 300 permanent jobs.
But the project ran into trouble last year when Army Lt. Gen. Michael Barbaro testified that the company had not implemented any measures to make their fertilizer easier to identify and track. He said at the time that the company was less than cooperative. Of course, the nitrogen fertilizer can be used in the homemade creation of explosive devices utilized especially in Afghanistan.
However, since Barbaro raised eyes with his testimony before a congressional subcommittee last year, he has reported that the Pakistanis have become much more cooperative.
Notably, Fatima will seek a way to reformulate its product to make it less effective as an ingredient in explosives, Barbero said. The company will work with the U.S. military to test and validate the new formulation, Barbero said, adding “If successful, this development would represent a significant step forward in curbing the use of homemade explosives and preventing the misuse of ammonium nitrate-based fertilizers.” He said then that the Fatima Group had confirmed to him in writing that it has suspended sales of calcium ammonium nitrate fertilizer products in two Pakistani provinces that border Afghanistan.
But this new spirit of cooperation between the Pakistanis and Barbaro, the Posey County Commissioners and Economic Development Coalition of Southern Indiana came a bit too late for Pence, who on Friday shut the door on state aid to the project.
It strikes us that if efforts are under way to further refine this fertilizer, and if such officials as Greg Wathen of the economic development coalition and the Posey commissioners continue to support the project, then Pence should give it time to work itself out. Indiana must continue to push forward on this jobs opportunity.