LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The City of Little Rock has been taking steps to expand the state's largest industrial park.
After the city's board of directors approved a land purchase of more than 900 acres on Tuesday night, we're now closer to seeing an expansion at the Port of Little Rock.
Over the past five years, Mayor Frank Scott Jr. said the city has helped create nearly 11,000 new jobs and with this expansion, he hopes to double that number.
"The Little Rock Port Authority is key to our economic development strategy," said Mayor Scott.
That's why Mayor Scott and the Little Rock Board of Directors have been actively pushing for more developments.
This week, they approved a land purchase through the renewed Little Rock bond package that was passed in August of 2022.
"We've been working diligently over the years for this expansion, not only for the existing businesses and more businesses to come but also for a large manufacturer," the Mayor added.
Along with new companies comes more jobs.
"We've seen close to at least 5,000 new jobs just with Amazon, maybe more to come from that standpoint. And so Amazon has that capacity. And we've already recruited Amazon to come here. We think we can get something of that size or larger," he explained.
It's also something Little Rock Regional Chamber President and CEO Jay Chesshir looks forward to seeing.
"We have the opportunity to not only create even more and better jobs for the people that are already here, but the people that we'll attract to come," Chesshir explained.
He also explained how people have already come from out of town to work at the port.
"There are over 40 counties that had people wake and drive here to work. Think about that. This truly is Arkansas Industrial Park and River Port," he added.
Ward 6 director, Andrea Lewis said she's looking forward to seeing the city grow.
"I have to give thanks to those before me, who were supportive of this initiative, and I'm just proud and thankful to be able to continue the work going forward," Lewis said.
"That'll continue to help us build out that economic development strategy that we've seen to be very successful the past five years," Mayor Scott added.
The mayor couldn't share any details on that future large manufacturer yet, but we will continue to update you as we learn more.