Last phase of $6.3M Belwood levee project set to begin

NATCHEZ — Natchez Inc. Executive Director Chandler Russ told Adams County supervisors this week the final phase of the construction of the levee around the Belwood industrial site will begin soon, and it’s worthy of a celebration.

“I am here to congratulate this board on completing and awarding the last phase of the levee project, which is the culmination of about $6.3 million that we got for the county over the years with no match,” Russ said.

The Belwood site, a property that was once the Belwood Country Club, has been under option since 2021 by Velocys, a company that plans to develop a plant to make sustainable aviation fuel there called Bayou Fuels.

“We want to thank one of our clients — prospects — for closing that gap, too. They participated to the tune of about $1.2 million in those funds. That’s not a small amount of money and it’s one of the first times I’ve seen when a company — a prospect — has contributed money toward the infrastructure development site prior to them pulling the trigger and completing the project.”

Velocys, a United Kingdom-based company, continues to work to develop plans for a project to turn biomass into jet fuel but has run into capital needs along the way. The once-public company, Velocys went private when it was purchased in January by a new consortium of growth investors who infused the company with $40 million of growth capital.

“We want to do a ribbon cutting or groundbreaking and do it on the front end of the completion rather than the end because the property is under option,” Russ said. “I will say that property for all practical purposes has generated the county, in addition to the levee money, $1.2 million over the last five years, so we are definitely looking forward to getting that property completed.”

The last portion of the project, which will close the levee around the Belwood property, will mitigate flooding concerns. The last phase will take $3.8 million from the approximately $6.3 million accumulated for the project.

Sources of funds for the levee project include $1.5 million from the Delta Regional Authority, $2 million from the Mississippi Legislature, $1.7 million from the Mississippi Development Authority, and $1.2 million from Velocys.

The last phase of the project is expected to take 270 days to complete.

“We are excited about finishing it up,” Russ said.

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