SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — The construction of a giant $2 billion fertilizer plant is on schedule in northwest Iowa, but the project is nearing its busiest phase when roughly 2,200 workers will be employed on the job.
The Sioux City Journal reports construction of the new CF Industries plant is entering its second year and is on track for completion in 2016.
Nick DeRoos, who is overseeing the expansion project, says the construction work slowed over the winter because of the snow, wind and freezing temperatures, but activity is picking up.
Two dozen cranes are in use at the site this month. The biggest one can lift as much as 1,000 tons 350 feet in the air.
"We've making great progress," DeRoos said.
As part of the project workers are building a warehouse that's 210 feet wide and 1,702 feet long to store nitrogen fertilizer. Two storage tanks under construction will each hold about 30,000 tons of ammonia.
Construction crews are bringing in thousands of tons of sand and gravel for foundations and new roads at the site. And the company expects to pour more than 165,000 cubic yards of concrete by the time the expansion is complete.
Currently, about 1,700 workers are involved in the project. That number will grow to about 2,200 over the next few months.
The company, based in Deerfield, Illinois, began construction in 2013 at the site just north of its existing plants, and CF Industries officials said construction remains on schedule.
The project is slated to be done by the middle of next year. CF Industries says it's full-time workforce will more than double with 125 new full-time jobs once the project is done.
