TOKYO—Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. said it will build a $300 million truck and bus tire plant at a site in east central Mississippi during the next two years.

The plant on a 500-acre site near West Point, Miss., will have the capacity to make 1 million tires in its first year of operation and ultimately 4 million units, the firm. The company expected the Mississippi state legislature to approve the project Friday morning in a special session called by Gov. Phil Bryant. The legislature ended its 2013 term several weeks ago.

Yokohama supplies truck and bus tires to customers in North America from a joint venture plant in Mount Vernon, Ill., and from factories in Japan and Thailand. The manufacturer said it is necessary to build a plant in the U.S. to meet increasingly growing demand for its brand and further strengthen a system aimed at local production for local consumption.

West Point has a population of about 11,000. It is the county seat of Clay County, located southeast of Memphis, northeast of Jackson, Miss., and due west of Birmingham, Ala. The county's other major businesses include Southern Ionics, Babcock and Wilcox and Mossy Oak Camouflage Co.