While state leaders this week are celebrating a big step forward in a plan by Advanced Mirco Devices to establish a computer chip manufacturing plant in Saratoga County, the payoff - if any - remains uncertain.

In spite of a projected state budget deficit of $8 billion for 2009-10, the state has agreed to chip in about $1.2 billion in subsidies - a $600 million capital grant and $600 million over 14 years in tax breaks through the Empire Zone program - to make the project a reality.

We welcome this type of investment, and this project certainly has the potential to bring plenty of money into the state in the long run, but this is a huge investment, and care must be taken to make sure it pays off.

The state has a track record of failing to follow up on companies to make sure they're doing everything they're supposed to be doing in relation to job creation and sustainability.

We hope the projection of a $4.6 billion investment by the company and the creation of 1,465 permanent high-tech jobs become a reality, but the state needs to make sure there is proper language in this deal that protects the interests of the state's investment and needs to be diligent about following up to make sure the company is living up to its promises.

And the plant is still very far from a done deal.

Since first proposing the project several years ago, AMD has run into serious financial problems, and this venture has now evolved into a partnership with Abu Dhabi, part of the United Arab Emirates, and will thus require federal approval to move forward.

At this point, AMD has the option, but no obligation, to break ground in July 2009.

Instead of celebrating this potential project, state leaders need to be vigilant about making sure these state funds will be more than a gift from a suitor, but an investment that has a real chance of paying dividends.