Aluminum factory expected to create 2,000 jobs

The City Council on Monday night was expected to approve the framework of a development agreement that would bring a $1.5 billion aluminum production facility and as many as 2,000 high-skilled manufacturing jobs to the Barstow area.

The proposed Exclusive Negotiating Agreement with Newport Beach-based Scuderia Development to build a 2.95 million-square-foot facility for China Zhongwang Holdings Limited on 964 acres between Lenwood and Hodge roads has been in the works since last fall, city officials said. Scuderia Development filed a letter of intent with the city in November, with a proposal to build the plant on a lot just south of the defunct Sun & Sky Country Club and golf course in Lenwood.

One of the largest secondary aluminum production factories in the world would be constructed in multiple phases over several years, but the first phase of the project would likely be operational within three years, according to city documents.

In the comments section of a link posted on the Desert Dispatch Facebook site Monday, locals weighed in on the proposed project.

“Nice to have new businesses come to Barstow, but how many Barstow residents are ‘highly skilled’ enough for those jobs?” Facebook user Cory Sabblut-Baker said. “Will the company come in ahead of time to give training to those interested? Or will those jobs bring in people from other areas who already have those skills, that will commute and not live here?”
According to its website, China Zhongwang Holdings Limited is the world’s second largest manufacturer of industrial aluminum profiles. Founded in 1993 and based in the Liaoning Province, the company produces an array of aluminum products used in a variety of transportation.

China Zhongwang enlisted Scuderia to handle the project. Scuderia already owns more than 258 acres of land at the proposed facility site.

The city will “coordinate a process with the developer to deliver a labor pool of at least 2,000 qualified employees,” according to Monday’s meeting agenda.

Check back with the Desert Dispatch throughout the week for breaking news on this story.

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