Huge tech investments in Mississippi heralded as changing the image of the Magnolia State

• Last January, Amazon Web Services announced a $10 billion project in Mississippi. A year later, another $10 billion project is bringing more datacenters to the state and “thousands” of new jobs.

Mississippi leaders are hailing a $10 billion datacenter coming to Lauderdale County as a sign of the state’s business-friendly environment and the changing image of the Magnolia State into a technology magnet.

Compass Datacenters will construct eight data centers over eight years, Governor Tate Reeves (R) announced Thursday. The datacenters will house several computer servers, which run the applications and services made possible online, including business applications, online shopping, entertainment streaming, email services, and digital file storage, the Governor’s office said in a statement.

The Dallas, Texas-based company’s single-tenant, large-scale data center campuses are designed to last for more than 100 years while creating economies of scale to support local businesses and jobs.

The Compass project will rival last year’s $10 billion investment by Amazon Web Services which is building two datacenters in Madison County.

The two projects, Reeves said, continues the state’s “impressive economic development streak that is unprecedented in Mississippi. Through our pro-business policies and favorable business environment, we continue to establish our state as an ideal location for high-tech developments by providing the resources needed for innovation and growth.”

Governor Reeves said the Compass project will create “thousands and thousands” of direct and indirect jobs.

The Mississippi Development Authority offered incentives, including state income and franchise exemptions, sales and use tax breaks on construction materials, equipment and hardware and software. The amount of the incentive package was not released on Thursday.

The City of Meridian, Lauderdale County and electrical utility provider Mississippi Power Company also are assisting with the project.

The effort to bring Compass Datacenters began in February 2024, said East Mississippi Business Development Corporation President Bill Hannah. Hannah added that over the last 11 months, the power utility built a substation in the I-20/I-59 Industrial Park after the Legislature approved $4 million in site grants.

Approximately 500,000 megawatts of electricity will be used to power the datacenters through Mississippi Power. The Governor noted that was enough power to light 360,000 homes. Reeves said Mississippi’s three power utilities can produce enough power to meet the state’s electric needs, adding the state is “well positioned to be a winner in the new world of offshoring.”

During his appearance at MEC’s Capital Day, Governor Reeves said that in the third quarter of 2024, Mississippi’s GDP grew by more than 5 percent, making it the third fastest-growing state in the southeastern U.S. last year. That success comes with challenges, good challenges, Reeves added.

In recent years, the Magnolia State has witnessed a steep decline in joblessness.

“Our unemployment rate is the lowest in state history,” Governor Reeves said. “Before Mississippi was always a percent above the national average.”

December’s jobless rate, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, was 4.2 percent nationwide, 1.1 percent higher than Mississippi.

Reeves said the state needs to experience population growth to meet the demands of new businesses moving into Mississippi. A key to attracting new residents is by lowering the income tax in a “quick and responsible way,” he believes.

Mississippi is attracting jobs that require different skill sets than those of former industries. That is where Mississippi’s universities and community colleges play a role, Reeves said. They are providing the training and skills needed to attract major industries.

Scott Alsobrook, president of East Mississippi Community College, said the system is already helping to train new industry workers while maintaining a steady supply of trade employees, such as HVAC.

“We’re ready to provide new workers,” he said of the continued new corporate investment in the state.

The response to the project announcement was well received by business and political leaders around the state.

State Auditor Shad White summed up the positive response to the major economic development announcement on social media by saying the amount of investment Mississippi has drawn in the last year “is actually wild.”

“In 30 years when people talk about the Tate Reeves administration, his enduring legacy will be this huge boom in economic development projects,” White wrote.