The Louisiana Bond Commission approved more than $1 billion in new tax-free bonds for a planned Hyundai-POSCO steel plant in Ascension Parish, on Tuesday (Sept. 17).
The commission approved two bond requests to help the company finance the plant: $900 million requested by the Louisiana Public Facilities Authority and $400 million requested by the Port of South Louisiana.
The plant was announced in March 2025 as part of Hyundai’s commitment to investing $25 billion in the United States at a press conference at the White House, attended by President Donald Trump, Hyundai Executive Chairman Euisun Chung, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry and Ascension Parish President Clint Cointment.
“This announcement makes clear that Louisiana’s manufacturing sector is roaring back, thanks to our historic tax reforms, our business-friendly approach and the many competitive advantages our state has to offer international powerhouses like Hyundai,” Landry said in a press release at the time.
It’s planned to be the anchor tenant in the proposed RiverPlex MegaPark industrial complex on Modeste, which sits on the west bank of Ascension Parish.
The plant has already broken ground; though it’s still waiting on key permits, including an air permit from the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality and a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build a dock the bonds would finance.
The plan has faced a tumultuous planning process, including at least 23 non-disclosure agreements related to the project between Hyundai and state and parish officials, uncovered in an investigation by the Gulf States Newsroom.
The plant has also faced several lawsuits.
Justice nonprofits Rural Roots Louisiana and the Louisiana Bucket Brigade filed a public records request in December 2025 seeking NDAs and other information related to the deal.
Ascension Parish officials denied it in February, citing a confidentiality statute and deliberative process privilege.
The two advocacy groups sued, and in May, the 23rd Judicial District Court ruled in their favor, ordering the records released. Ascension Parish appealed, and that appeal is what's keeping the records out of public view.
An East Baton Rouge Parish judge dismissed a separate suit on August 27, ruling the state didn’t have to submit a $200 million incentive deal to the state Bond Commission.
A 'one-way street'
Critics of the bonds decision told commission members they were worried about a lack of transparency, environmental impacts and employment opportunities. The plant is being built in an industrial area known as Cancer Alley, where studies show residents already face an increased cancer risk.
Anne Rolfes, with Louisiana Bucket Brigade, said the fact that the state is willing to give Hyundai $300 million in savings over 30 years — on top of $2.6 billion in incentives the state and Entergy have already given Hyundai — shows this is a bad deal.
“This seems to be a one-way street in which the state of Louisiana is giving things to a corporation,” she said. “And it explains why Louisiana is poor if this is what we think of as good business.”
Similar concerns were raised at the meeting.
“It's a billion-dollar company,” Twila Collins told the commission. “So if they have that kind of money, they should be paying for their own support to come here to Louisiana, not Louisiana bringing them here.”
Proponents of the deal — including the governor — say that the bonds will help finance construction and the plant will be a huge economic boost to the state.
Rep. Ken Brass (D-Vacherie) — who allegedly signed an NDA — says though Hyundai isn’t contractually obligated to hire locally, the company has promised to, and parish officials will hold it to that promise.
“We will do everything within our power to ensure that, number one, they train,” he told Collins. “And secondly, [we’ll make sure] that Hyundai knows that it's a priority for them to focus and be intentional and strategic with hiring local residents.”
State Sen. Jay Morris (R-Monroe) expressed further frustration that many of the people who were testifying in opposition did not live in Ascension Parish and would not be able to reap the potential benefits of the plant.
“It's not unnoticed by anyone that no one that has testified today opposed to this is from Ascension Parish,” he said. “I understand being an activist is probably a very rewarding experience. But if I was you, I would direct my efforts to trying to make sure that we have regulations in place to prevent the pollution you say is going to occur rather than trying to prevent these projects from coming forward because our citizens need jobs.
“They have to support their families.”
Collins, a self-described “lifelong resident” of Modeste, pushed back on Morris’ claim.
”You're sitting up there saying that you're communicating with the people of the community, which is not true, 'cause I am from the community,” she told the commission. “And Mr. Ken Brass, I have never seen you in Modeste talking to anybody from Modeste, unless you're doing it on the outside of Modeste, because I am there.
“But we, the community of Modeste, are in opposition of y'all giving money to Hyundai, who has a billion dollars already.”
