KEY TAKEAWAYS: Ascension Parish President Clint Cointment defended the use of nondisclosure agreements while officials competed to land Hyundai Steel’s $5.8 billion mill. Cointment described the project as “transformational,” citing its potential economic impact on Ascension and surround ing parishes. The mill is expected to support 5,400 jobs, including 1,300 direct positions, with commercial production targeted for 2029. The facility is expected to produce 2.7 million metric tons of steel annually, primarily for automotive applications.   Ascension Parish President Clint Cointment released a 34-minute interview in which he defended the use of non-disclosure agreements to secure the $5.8 billion Hyundai Steel project near Donaldsonville. Liam Combs of WAFB, a Baton Rouge television station, asked multiple questions during the Sept. 23 interview, which Ascension21 produced in its entirety for its YouTube channel. “It’s a transformational project,” Cointment said. “It’s a project that we competed with several other states, Texas, Georgia and others in order to land this because it is a transformational project. When you look at all of those benefits… It’s been talked about for decades to bring a RPCC (River Parishes Community College) school to the west side. It didn’t come to a reality until industry decided to come in and make that reality.” Cointment said the project will be transformational for nearby areas, including neighboring Iberville, St. James and Assumption parishes. Ascension Parish President Clint Cointment speaks during an event held July 3, 2024, in Donaldsonville. He noted a “ripple effect” from economic development, which will allow teachers to be paid more, the sheriff to put more units on the road, parish government to work on roads, drainage projects and provide better quality of life through recreation. Cointment also mentioned benefits to the City of Donaldsonville as more businesses open. During much of the interview, he addressed the use of non-disclosure agreements in securing the project. “There are some NGOs (non-governmental organizations) that are paid with out of state money who do not want to see investment here in the state of Louisiana, don’t want to see it here in Ascension Parish,” Cointment said. “That’s a fact. And that money has been tracked from out of state. Who knows whether it comes from overseas or not. I think there is a true story in that, of where these NGOs get funded and how they are funded. With that, I think most residents agree on projects like this.” He went on to mention competition from other states. “Imagine if you’re Texas and I’m Louisiana and I’m creating and you’re creating the best deal possible to land this transformational project and we don’t have these NDAs in place, or just one of us does,” he said. “Let’s say I don’t. And you come in and say, ‘Do a public information request.’ This is what they’re offering. We’ll beat them here, here and here. And Texas lands the job, right?” Cointment later noted that he has received criticism through his job since “day one.” “The thing that really needs to be focused on is the outcome,” he said. “We can get there a lot of different ways, but when you are talking about increasing the quality of life for your residents, the end product is what you focus on. So, we can choose to nitpick, and we can choose to say NDAs or lack of transparency or environmental concerns, which we are rated one of the healthiest parishes in the state and the river region overall is the healthiest region in the state, so that’s a lot of misinformation put out by NGOs and such.” According to the parish president, the project “happened the way it happened because it needed to happen that way.” “At the end of the day when you look at all of the documents released, it’s nothing,” he said. “Do you know we went to the finance committee, put all this publicly online in our packet. Not a single person showed up. Do you know that we went to the council meeting after the finance meeting, had the same documentation, everything that everybody has been complaining about, everything. Not a single person showed up. So, you know, it’s very easy to say this and that. But they are not even engaged enough to look at what they’re complaining about. That’s not being shown. That’s how dull it is. It’s just standard business stuff that we do every month, every day and every week around here. So, I think that is a statement in itself. Here is all the information you’ve been complaining you can’t get. Look how dull it is. You didn’t even show up at the meeting. You didn’t even put a comment for or against or even say a word at the podium.” Often in the interview, Cointment referred to looking at the bigger picture. “This is a global company,” he said, referring to the South Korean company. “They could have chosen anywhere in the world. They chose the United States. They chose the state of Louisiana. They chose Ascension Parish. And that means something because they could have easily taken these jobs somewhere else.” Later, the parish president addressed criticism he has received. “It comes with this job,” he said. “Our council is no different. They’re going to criticize them. There are people who criticize the sheriff. People criticize the school board, one of the top-rated school systems in the state. You’re going to get criticism. When you’re elected, you accept that. That’s just part of it. Never let that criticism take you away from your goals and why you ran in the first place, and that’s the provide a better quality of life for your residents.” Nearing the conclusion of the interview, Cointment said he was excited for the west bank area as he expects more businesses, restaurants and opportunities in upcoming years.   What’s next for Hyundai Steel in Ascension Parish? Construction for the Hyundai Steel mill is expected to continue through the end of 2028 with the targeted start of operation estimated for the first quarter of 2029. According to a company news release, the mill will have an annual capacity of 2.7 million metric tons of hot-rolled and cold-rolled steel sheets, primarily for automotive applications, and is expected to create 5,400 jobs, including 1,300 direct positions. The new facility will be operated by HYUNDAI-POSCO Louisiana Steel, a joint venture between Hyundai Steel, POSCO, Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Corporation. Michael Tortorich is a journalist for the USA Today Network in Louisiana. Gonzales Weekly Citizen and Donaldsonville Chief, part of the USA Today Network of Louisiana, cover Ascension Parish and the greater Baton Rouge area. Follow at facebook.com/WeeklyCitizen and facebook.com/DonaldsonvilleChief. This article originally appeared on Donaldsonville Chief: Parish president: Hyundai Steel mill project will be ‘transformational’ Reporting by Michael Tortorich, Gonzales Weekly Citizen / Donaldsonville Chief USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect ...read more read less