he world’s largest producer of cane sugar is planning its largest-ever capital expenditure to overhaul a historic — and timeworn — refinery near New Orleans.

American Sugar Refining this week broke ground on the first phase of what the company said would be a $785 million project to modernize the   — the largest sugar processing plant in the Western Hemisphere.

Initial construction, which is already underway, will build a new $200 million process building by 2028; state and company officials said that modernizing the overall campus’ refining capabilities would allow it to meet future demand, improve reliability, and reduce both water and energy use.

Additional phases, officials said, would build on those process improvements, but the announcement did not outline the next steps of the overall project — or a timetable for starting them.

ASR said that it anticipates adding 15 jobs to its current workforce of 500. NOLA.com reports that the state’s incentive package for the project included a 80% property tax abatement over 10 years.

The Chalmette Refinery began operations at the campus along the Mississippi River in 1909, and it wears the scars of a 117-year history that has included hurricanes, fires and dramatic changes in the sugar market. Its 32 production lines can reportedly produce some 6 million pounds of sugar per day across dozens of product platforms. 

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