Today, more than three years since that first shovel was turned on the project, the plant's manager and lawyers informed a news conference the plant would need an additional $8 million in financing to buy out one of the original lenders and to complete construction.

Lee Hanson, a lawyer for Central Minnesota Ethanol Cooperative, said one of the original financial backers, who held a share in the $4.5 million range, will be bought out with the new financing, and the additional funds would be used to pay for project completion. He said he was optimistic in the co-op's ability to secure the new line of credit, stating he had rejected an offer issued Tuesday as he was seeking a better interest rate.

Plant manager Tom DeSpiegelaere said today the plant remains in the 95 percent complete stage with a variety of work needed throughout to make it operational. He said contrary to earlier media reports that had the time needed to complete the work placed at less than a week, the full project is now 8-12 weeks from completion. With this timetable in mind, DeSpiegelaere said that it would be possible to have the plant online by November, but he said he was reluctant to issue an estimated starting date.

"But I am optimistic that we can do this by early November," he said.

Hanson said the growing list of contractors who have placed liens on the property has also provided a misleading picture of the plant's financial woes. The example he cited was Brownlee and Hayes, the original general contractors on the project. Hanson estimated that nearly $10 million, which would equal approximately 95 percent of the contract, had been paid out. He also said that although several contractors have been paid, several subcontractors have filed liens because they have not been paid by the contractors for their work.

Hanson said when the project was first designed, cost estimates were placed in the $26 million range, but he said that the current cost estimates were closer to $31 million. He blamed the shifting cost on repeated changes in blueprints that saw components that were originally planned for later addition added to the original plans because of the efficiency of building the parts into the plant.

Despite the delays and cost over-runs, Hanson and DeSpiegelaere both professed they were convinced the new funding should allow the plant to eventually come online.

"Every ethanol plant in Minnesota has cost more than it was expected to," Hanson said. "And that $8 million is what we should need to finish the plant."