Northern Beef Packers plant set to open 6 years after proposal
After lengthy delays that included lawsuits, local opposition, flooding, an economic downturn, delinquent property taxes and several liens, the Northern Beef Packers plant in Aberdeen, S.D., is finally set to open. The project, initially proposed in 2006, may begin processing cattle as early as this spring, reports the Associated Press.
Land for the $109 million Northern Beef Packers in Aberdeen was secured in 2006, but nemerous delays kept the project from moving forward. Once locally owned, the plant was given new life when Korean investors took over in 2009. Northern Beef Packers is now 41 percent owned by businessman Oshik Song with 69 other Korean investors who each gave at least $500,000 under the federal EB-5 program that encourages foreign investment in exchange for qualifications to secure permanent residency.