NATCHEZ — The cells are still empty and there’s still hiring left to do, but Tuesday Corrections Corporation of America hosted the official grand opening of the multi-million dollar Adams County Correctional Facility.

Community leaders, politicians and representatives from state agencies packed the facility’s gymnasium to hear from several guest speakers.

Mississippi Lt. Governor Phil Bryant, who began his career working in the Hinds County jail, recalled the dismal conditions of that facility in the 1970s.

“It was a very dark place,” Bryant said.

In contrast, Bryant said the new CCA facility, which cost $126 million to construct and will bring 400 new jobs to the area, is an enormous asset to Adams County and those who will reside in the facility.

“I’m glad to see the world has changed,” Bryant said.

And while CCA’s newest facility, the fourth in the state, represents the latest in inmate care, the new jobs the prison will bring to the area were the stars of Tuesday’s ceremony.

“This is important,” Mississippi Development Authority Executive Director Gray Swoope said. “This represents significant employment opportunities that can be built on.”

Swoope said while the jobs are important to the local economy, the economic momentum those jobs possess is even greater.

“We want to build on this,” he said. “This can be a center for commerce. We can have a ripple effect on Southwest Mississippi.”

But like Swoope and others noted, that potential cannot be utilized unless teamwork between county, city and state representatives is firmly in place.

“It took a tremendous amount of teamwork to get to here today,” Swoope said. “And it takes community support. This type of project does not come together on its own.”

But no matter how the facility got there, CCA representatives are just glad to see the project completed.

“This is a great day for CCA and a great day for Adams County,” Warden Vance Laughlin said.

CCA Chairman and CEO John Ferguson said the new facility is self-validating for the company.

“This shows we’re doing a pretty good job,” Ferguson said. “This company is great at what it does.”

And it won’t be long before the company begins housing some of its first inmates.

Laughlin said the first inmates will begin arriving in August and will continue filling the facility for the next six months.

Additionally, the facility will continue to hire the approximately 200 needed employees into December, Laughlin said.

The facility is also expected to pay $3 million in taxes and utilities.