ABERDEEN, SD – Contractors have filed liens for more than $1.3 million against Northern Beef Packers, which is building a $110 million beef processing plant in Aberdeen, SD, scheduled to open in 2012, according to the Associated Press.

Public records show that of the $1.3 million in liens filed against the company, about $1.2 million has not been paid, and the plant owes more than $10 million from previous years. David Palmer, chief executive officer and president of Northern Beef Packers, said the best way to pay the company’s creditors is to open the plant, according to AP. He said the plant does not have enough to pay its bills because not all of its Tax Incremental Finance (TIF) bonds have been sold and no other financing has been secured.

The 420,000-sq.-ft. plant will process an estimated 200 cattle per day, eventually expanding to 1,500 head per day. Roughly 200 people currently work at the plant, but that number is expected to reach 650 when the plant is fully operational.