JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Missouri senators investigating a troubled economic development project in Moberly have turned their focus to bonds and immigration visas.
The city of Moberly issued $39 million in bonds and the state offered about $17 million worth of incentives for the artificial sweetener plant that Mamtek U.S. Inc. planned to build. The plant remains unbuilt, the only employees hired so far have been laid off and Mamtek has missed a bond payment.
At a hearing Tuesday, a Senate committee reviewed the bonds and the role of a federal visa program for foreign investors in the project. The Columbia Daily Tribune has reported that Mamtek sought to recruit Chinese investors through a visa program.
Missouri lawmakers are in a special legislative session focused on tax incentives for businesses.