The city council of Pueblo, Colorado voted 5-1 on Monday to direct $8 million in incentive money to help a hemp-oil company get its processing plant up and running.
The Pueblo Development Foundation is giving $3 million to transform a former Boeing rocket assembly plant into a hemp processing plant for CBD Biosciences.
The company, a partnership between O.pen Vape and Thar Process Inc., will also receive $4.89 million to purchase equipment.
According to forecasts laid out in the agreement voted on by the council, the plant will create 168 jobs over the next two years that will pay an annual salary of $41,590 on average, not including benefits.
“This will be a fast-paced project,” said Pueblo Economic Development Corp. CEO Jack Rink. “They are already in town looking at the building. They have product they need to dry, so it’s full-speed ahead.”
The project may incentivize more Colorado farmers to start producing hemp, said Rink. “This is that missing component — the company that can process the crop. It is really going to create the incentive to plant more in the future.”
Source:
http://www.denverpost.com/marijuana/ci_29030544?source=rss
Photo Credit: Travis Isaacs
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