ACOMA PUEBLO, N.M., Jan. 20, 2017
/PRNewswire/ -- Acoma Pueblo Governor Kurt
Riley and the Tribal Council of the Acoma Pueblo, a Native
American Tribe, have entered into a 25-year business agreement and
land lease with the Bright Green Group of Companies, Inc. This
landmark agreement enables Bright Green to begin constructing on
tribal land a state-of-the-art greenhouse facility and research
center for medicinal plants.
The agreement was signed in December
2016 by Governor Riley and Bright Green CEO John Stockwell. Representatives of Acoma
Business Enterprises were instrumental in developing the agreement,
which marks the official launch of the collaborative effort between
Acoma Pueblo and Bright Green.
"This is a great opportunity for the Acoma Pueblo, which will
bring job opportunities and resources to the Pueblo," said
Shaun Cunningham, Chief Executive
Officer of Acoma Business Enterprises. "Collaborating with Bright
Green makes sense for the Pueblo in many ways. It is a great use of
tribal land, provides financial benefits to the community and will
be an economic driver for the local area and the State of New Mexico."
The 25-year term of the agreement provides a strategic financial
advantage to the Bright Green Group by establishing predictable,
fixed costs guaranteed over a long period of time. The Group also
holds numerous provisional patents that further strengthen its
long-term position in the cannabinoid and herbal supplements
market. The new operation will produce pharmaceutical grade product
that meets rigid US, Canadian and European Union pharmacopeia
standards. Bright Green Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a Delaware company, which is the Group's pharma,
medical and marketing arm, will use the product in its novel,
cannabinoid-based prescription and non-prescription pharmaceutical
and nutraceutical product lines.
Kickoff of the 150-acre development is scheduled for
Wednesday, March 15, according to
Stockwell. "Construction will take place in four phases totaling
approximately 30 months," Stockwell said. "Phase one will be
completed in September, enabling the Group to start processing and
manufacturing in 2017."
The Bright Green facility on the Acoma Indian Reservation will
grow up to 40 million plants per year, which will result in
production volume exceeding 1 billion grams/marketable units
annually. This facility is in addition to the existing 1 million
sq. ft. high-tech Venlo greenhouse Bright Green owns in
Grants, New Mexico, which the
company is renovating for growing various potted herbals for the
supplements market.
Acoma Pueblo tribal members are among the most experienced
farmers in North America, with a
farming heritage that draws on more than 2,000 years of tribal
history.
"Collaborating with Bright Green is a strategic part of the
Pueblo's commitment to staying on the cutting edge of agriculture
for the next 2,000 years and beyond," said Chris Ahmie, Business Development Officer for
Acoma Business Enterprises. The new operation will build on this
heritage, growing organic medicinal plants on tribal land.
Bright Green is investing more than $160
million in the 5.8 million sq. ft. operation. During
construction, the project will create more than 1,200 direct and
indirect jobs in an area with particularly high unemployment. Once
construction is completed, operating the facility will create high
tech jobs for the region and new opportunities for universities to
collaborate with the MJ Brown Research Center that Bright Green is
building onsite.
Development is funded entirely by private investment, brought
together by the Bright Green Regional Center LLC, through a
United States job creation program
called EB-5. Congress created the EB-5 Program in 1990 to stimulate
the U.S. economy through job creation and capital investment by
foreign investors. The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program issues visas
to participants who invest in commercial enterprises associated
with regional centers approved by USCIS, based on proposals for
promoting economic growth.
Bright Green's 150 acre development includes a 118 acre
fully-automated greenhouse, a 900,000 sq.ft. operation and
manufacturing warehouse, a 96,000 sq.ft. research center, and a 12
mW power generation facility. The complex will produce the
highest-quality medicinal plants available, and its
industry-leading power, water and gas utilities will help the
Pueblo become self-sufficient.
"Bright Green has demonstrated real intent to benefit the
reservation and its members, which makes this a unique
collaboration," said Shaun
Cunningham, Chief Executive Officer of Acoma Business
Enterprises. "It is truly a long-term effort that will bring
economic development and quality of life improvements to the
Pueblo."
For more information about the development, academic research,
investment opportunities or the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program,
contact Bright Green at www.BrightGreenGroup.com. The website also
provides a video containing more information about the
development.
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SOURCE Bright Green Group