Gov. Haley Barbour, U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson and U.S. Sen. Trent Lott will join with other officials and industrialists Thursday at the Port of Vicksburg as Bunge North America and Ergon Refining break ground for what will be the largest ethanol plant in the Southeast.

In addition to being the largest, the project is also the first ethanol venture between an agribusiness company, Bunge, and an energy company, Ergon.

The ceremony at 1833 Haining Road will begin at 11 a.m.

Ergon, based in Jackson, is a diversified company whose energy division already employs about 600 people in Warren County. Its petroleum-refining plant and other operations are also at the harbor northwest of the downtown area.

Bunge, a top grain buyer in the United States based in St. Louis, also has a presence in Vicksburg with its elevator at City Front.

They announced a joint venture in May to build the plant in Vicksburg to start converting grain to fuel. Once completed, the plant is expected to employ 32 people on a $2 million payroll, producing 60 million gallons of ethanol a year.

Warren County supervisors approved an array of tax incentives for the project.

For the ethanol plant, the company received a commitment for free port warehousing within an inventory tax exemption and one on finished goods.

The other was a fee-in-lieu of property taxes amounting to one-third of the tax levy, including school taxes, provided Ergon’s expansion to its current plant reaches $100 million.

Both companies have estimated 21 million bushels of corn will be used in the plant’s production of ethanol, used mainly as a gasoline additive. Demand has gone up exponentially as the search for fossil fuel alternatives has risen.

Ninety-seven ethanol plants are operating in the United States with another 35 under construction. More than 150 are said to be in the planning stages.