NATCHEZ — Construction of a solar farm on the former Johns Manville roofing plant site has been delayed by a downturn in the scrap metal market, project manager Animesh “Andy” Kumar said earlier this week.

Kumar, president of Ultra Energy Group, confirmed his company plans to demolish buildings, clean and prepare the site and build a solar farm on Liberty Road for MKS One Investments LLC, the Illinois company that bought the property in August.

The solar farm will consist of a series of panels that will be built to generate electricity on the site, he said. Kumar did not provide any other details about the project.

Kumar said recent drops in the market have slowed efforts to begin the first phases of demolition and construction.

“The metals market went down so much this summer that the project has been delayed,” he said.

In recent years, a global downturn has made it difficult for companies to sell material from demolition projects like the one in Natchez, Kumar said.

“If the market is down, it will cost more to demolish a building than it will be to sell it,” Kumar said. “And that is a problem.”

Kumar said he hopes the market will rebound in the next few weeks to the point that they can start the project. He hopes that could be as soon as the middle of October.

“Once we get started it should take three to four years to finish the project,” Kumar said.

If everything goes as scheduled, Kumar said it should take one year to demolish the building, another year to clear and prepare the site and one to two years to build the solar farm, before handing over the site to the owner.

Part of the demolition of the site will require the removal of asbestos in the plant, Kumar said.

Rebecca Buckles, a spokesperson for the company that will be demolishing the project said that they have received many applicants for work on the project and thanked them for their patience and understanding as they wait for asbestos removal to be complete.

“As soon as the asbestos has been removed, (the company) will proceed with the project,” Buckles said.