NEW MADRID, Mo. -- New Madrid County will soon be home to one of the largest fertilizer storage sites on the Mississippi River.

The $15 million Crop Production Services facility being built along the New Madrid County Port Authority's slack water harbor will have the storage capacity for 69,000 tons of liquid and dry fertilizer combined, according to Steve Martin, general manager for CPS.

Construction began on the site in February, with as many as three crews working simultaneously. The pace, officials said, will pick up even more as crews work to meet the Sept. 15 completion date.

The facility includes 51,000-ton dry fertilizer house along with two tanks which will hold three million gallons of liquid fertilizer while a third will hold 500,000 gallons. There will be a maintenance shop and truck scales at the site, also.

CPS will be able to bring in fertilizer by barge or rail to the facility, which will have blending capability for dry and liquid fertilizer.

The plant is designed for speed and efficiency, Martin said. He explained the facility will have keypads and touch screens enabling truck drivers to have 24-hour access for loading liquid fertilizer.

The facility's automated systems will load up to 24 tons of fertilizer in four minutes, he said. Truckers can then move to the automatic scales, which will help drivers ensure their vehicles never leave overloaded.

Truckers will like the setup, Martin added, because of the ease of loading, the quick turnaround it will allow them and the fact they never have to get out of their vehicles.

The facility will own 10 tractor/trailers to serve retail plants from Sikeston to Lepanto, Ark., in addition to the third-party truckers currently used by CPS, Martin said.

Also the CPS facility will have the latest updates for safety and protection of the environment. He said the maintenance shop will have the ability to wash all mobile equipment indoors to avoid runoff and contamination of the site and will keep fertilizer dust at a minimum through the enclosed loading system.

"The whole facility is built to be environmentally friendly," said Martin.

Martin praised the efforts of local authorities for the welcome the company has received.

"I can't say enough how pleased I am with what the Port Authority, County Commissioners and state legislators have done to help bring this facility into New Madrid County," said Martin. "It's pretty exciting to be working on an expansion project when all you hear are negatives about the economy now."

He also credited this effort with prompting the Port Authority's newest tenant, Agrium Advanced Technologies, which is a sister company to CPS, to announce plans to construct a new facility there.

Ronnie Simmons, New Madrid County assessor, noted the port site is part of the county's Enhanced Enterprise Zone. Constructing in the zone qualified CPS for a 50 percent reduction on the assessment for real estate improvements over a 10 years period.

As part of its preparation of the site for the tenant, the New Madrid County Port Authority is extending rail service, installing mooring dolphins in the harbor and constructing truck scales and a warehouse, said Chris Lambert, engineer with Lambert Engineering and Surveying in Sikeston.

Construction costs for the Port's portion of the project were paid through a variety of grants as well as a loan, according to Timmie Lynn Hunter, Port Authority director.

She said the Port Board is still seeking some $183,500 needed to match a road grant to pay to concrete the levee road and County Road 406 leading into the CPS facility. "We need to have the road done before they start business," she said.

Overall, Hunter added, the project has gone very well.

"They (CPS) have been wonderful to work with and we are excited about the good jobs they are bringing to the county," she said, noting the company has said the facility will employ approximately 15 people.

And the new employer will have a ripple effect throughout the county. According to Hunter for every 10 jobs CPS brings directly to the county, it multiplies at least by 12 of the number of indirect jobs which benefit.