Tennessee emerged as the winner in a nationwide scramble to attract more than $5.6 billion in investment from Ford Motor Co. and SK Innovation, a South Korean battery maker, to manufacture electric vehicles and batteries on a tract of land 40 miles northeast of downtown Memphis.
Now, the weight of the project falls in part on the shoulders of former Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner Clay Bright, picked by Gov. Bill Lee to serve as the first CEO of the new Megasite Authority of West Tennessee. Established during a special session last month, the Megasite Authority will oversee the construction of the site and act as a sort of “mini TVA” providing the site with all of its utilities and overseeing operations.
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