the five-day flurry that led to $1.5 billion taxpayer commitment for

DES MOINES, Iowa (Gray Media Iowa State Capitol Bureau) — Gov. Kim Reynolds worked on it, President Donald Trump announced it, Iowa legislators approved it, but there are still details the public does not yet know about a proposed $15 billion steel plant in Lee County.

The Essar Group, an Indian-owned company that has a Minnesota subsidiary named Mesabi Metallics, wants to open the plant to produce steel with iron ore mined at its Minnesota facility.

President Trump held a news conference Monday to announce the project.

Rail lines and Mississippi River barges would be part of the transportation and distribution process for the operation.

Steel plant jobs

The company said that its Iowa plant could require 6,000 temporary construction jobs with 1,750 employees eventually working at the steel mill.

On Friday, Iowa lawmakers gathered in special session to approve an incentives package that could reach nearly $1.5 billion over the next 10 years if the company reaches hiring and production benchmarks.

Criticism of incentives for steel plant

This Republican senator spoke out against the deal during his remarks on the floor and accused Gov. Reynolds of negotiating a deal that was not good for taxpayers.

Before this week, most legislators knew little to nothing about the massive project that Gov. Reynolds and her team had spent months negotiating.

The incentives deal for the steel plant is the largest taxpayer commitment for a private project in the state’s history and comes less than five weeks before the mid-term elections.

Reynolds signed the legislation into law Friday night.

Unknowns about steel plant project

The governor has not said where the project could happen in Lee County.

The company’s CEO told lawmakers that Mesabi Metallics is still working on financing for its share of the project.

The Iowa Economic Development Authority board must still approve the agreement for the steel plant.