Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal said Thursday that metro Atlanta has the “talent, transit and logistics” to land Amazon’s second headquarters and the 50,000 jobs it could bring.
His statement Thursday came shortly after Amazon narrowed its list of potential cities for its massive second headquarters to a final grouping that includes Atlanta and 19 other metro areas in the U.S. and Canada.
Deal said that the bid to lure Amazon to metro Atlanta “has been a cooperative effort by the entire region” and that Atlanta’s proximity to ports, highways, universities and the world’s busiest airport makes it the prime spot for Amazon’s second headquarters.
The shortlist also includes Austin, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, New York, Nashville, Toronto and Washington and two of its suburbs. Amazon’s finalists will compete for the massive $5 billion project, known as HQ2.
The hunt for HQ2 now enters its most critical phase, a race to the finish where finalists will put on the hard sell to land the mammoth project. The competition will likely create one of the biggest incentives bidding wars in memory, with lawmakers and city leaders doing battle to land a legacy-defining prize.
Deal and other state leaders have long said Georgia will make an all-out effort to land the giant project, though they are tight-lipped on the specific details the state and city could offer.
“We look forward to the next steps,” the governor said, “and making sure our region remains at the top of the list.”
Keep reading: Atlanta is on the shortlist for Amazon’s HQ2
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