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VW Plant Will Include $35.7 Million Tank Farm

$70 Million In State Funds Cover That And Other Plant Facilities

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

The $1 billion Volkswagen plant at the Enterprise South Industrial Park will include a $35.7 million tank farm and utilities plant.

Officials said that will be among $70 million in items at the plant paid for with state funds.

State officials plan to go to the bond market soon to issue bonds for the $70 million the Bredesen administration pledged earlier for the major Chattanooga facility that is due to open in 2011.

The tank farm is a storage facility for the fluids to be added to finished cars (engine oil, gasoline, diesel, cooling fluids).

The utilities plant is a central facility in the plant where hot water, chilled water, cold water and compressed air for all processes in the factory are generated. The utilities plant also contains the tanks for the sprinkler system.

Other items at the VW plant to be covered by the $70 million in state bonds:

$12 million for a mixing yard - Loading facilities for loading outbound rail cars and/or trucks, including storage areas for the loaded cars or trucks.

$9 million for parking lots for employees - includes pedestrian access over Poe Branch to the main plant buildings.

$7 million for a TVA electric transformer station

$3.8 million for a rainwater storage reservoir

$1.5 million for a test track - a road with different pavements where each produced car is checked

$900,000 for a scrap yard - for sorting and storage items to be recycled or disposed.

$100,000 for related planning costs.

The VW plant will also include an energy plant.

The low bidder for constructing the energy plant was DF Chase of Nashville. The bid was $3,269,835.

There were 11 bidders in all with a high bid of $4,258,386.

The state already put $80 million into the Chattanooga VW plant.


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