Edgecombe County economic development heats up with over 900 new jobs planned

Edgecombe County is about to get an economic shot in the arm with announcements over the next several days of new jobs coming to the struggling county. Gov. Cooper is planned to make the announcement.

Posted 9:08 p.m. Dec 12, 2017 — Updated 5:40 p.m. Jul 13, 2018

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. — Edgecombe County is about to get an economic shot in the arm with announcements over the next several days of new jobs coming to the struggling county.

Gov. Roy Cooper is scheduled to visit Edgecombe twice in a week to share news about the nearly 1,000 new jobs for a county that has the second highest unemployment rate in the state and has experienced an exodus of residents in recent years.

State officials on Wednesday are expected to announce plans by a optical fiber company to relocate to Edgecombe, bringing about 150 new jobs to the region. Officials have not publicly disclosed the name of the firm although the Department of Commerce Economic Investment Committee is set to consider and approve state incentives Wednesday to spur the company's relocation.
Several sources also told WRAL News that another job announcement is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 19, with news of an unnamed Chinese tire maker with plans to invest more than a half-billion dollars to produce upwards of 800 jobs.This would be the first major tenant at the Kingsboro megasite off the U.S. Highway 64 bypass in Edgecombe. The location has 1,500 acres near the freeway.

State and local officials declined to talk publicly about either announcement until after incentive deals are signed.

Rocky Mount, the largest city in the county, has logged an unemployment rate as high as 14.8 percent during the Great Recession. According to reports, the rate has dipped and now stands around six percent. The county's unemployment rate, as of September 2017 was 6.7 percent.

The county may be on the mend after struggling for months with devastation left behind by Hurricane Matthew. The storm roared through eastern parts of North Carolina and left behind a wide swath of damage and destruction that displaced hundreds of residents from their homes.

There are also plans to bring a massive CSX cargo terminal to the county. The $270 million hub, which is expected to open in 2020, will be built across U.S. Highway 301 from North Carolina Wesleyan College in Rocky Mount. Officials anticipate 300 permanent jobs at the site, as well as 250 to 300 construction jobs.

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