Yokohama Tire Manufacturing Mississippi (YTMM) has commenced construction of its new $300m commercial truck tire manufacturing plant in West Point, Mississippi.

Covering 1millionft2 of land, the new tire-making plant is expected to open in October 2015.

With an initial investment of $300m, the new plant will include production, warehousing and operations facilities, and will produce up to one million tires annually. In the first phase, around 500 jobs will be created.

YTMM president Tadaharu Yamamoto said that Mississippi was the right choice for the project.

Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant said: "Just five short months ago, the company announced its plans to locate these operations in West Point, and I am grateful to the Yokohama team and those at the state and local levels for working so quickly to get this project underway."

Yokohama offers a range of products including tires for light truck, passenger car, commercial truck and bus.