The North Carolina Council of State is banking on $744 million to help turn around the state's economy.

The panel agreed to "fast track" Governor Mike Easley's planned capital improvement projects which were approved by the Legislature last summer. The $744 million will be borrowed in the form of bonds and will be divvied up between 29 projects mainly having to do with education and public safety.

Governor Easley said state leaders wanted to take advantage of low-interest rates and get North Carolinians back to work.

"We're just trying to get them out maybe 30 to 60 days early so that we create those 36 to 40,000 jobs 30 to 60 days early. May not sound like much but if you're without a job, 30 more days makes a big difference," Easley said.

All of the projects involved should be ready for construction this year. One of them, called the "Green Square Complex" in downtown Raleigh, should be finished in two and a half years. Two blocks will be dedicated to a nature research center, an extension of the Museum of Natural Sciences, and a headquarters for the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources. DENR Chief Deputy Secretary Bill Laxton said news of approval for the money is exciting.

"We will be awarding contracts probably in the May/June period to start building above ground so we're going to be putting a significant number of North Carolinians to work," Laxton said.

The Triangle will see a large portion of the $744 million including $109 million for N.C. State's Centennial Campus Library, $69 million for UNC Chapel Hill's School of Dentistry addition and $24.5 million for N.C. Central's School of Nursing building. The prison system -- something Governor Easley said needed attention anyway -- will also get a large chunk of money.

Governor-elect Beverly Perdue said she hopes materials and such for the projects come from North Carolina.

"It's only an economy lifter if the people in this state get that money; that's how we stimulate our economy," Perdue said.

But there's been controversy over some projects, like $3 million for the zoo's polar bear addition. Fiscal Policy Analyst Joseph Coletti with the conservative John Locke Foundation questions how much the projects will stimulate the economy and how the money is being borrowed.

"Borrowing money without asking for voter approval -- for taxpayers to approve those projects --so it's a way to get around budgeting requirements," Coletti said.

Governor Easley said it can't wait.

"Anything that creates jobs is a good idea; and if you don't have a job, you don't care if you're building a university building, a prison or a polar bear exhibit. You need that job," Easley said.

State Treasurer-elect Janet Cowell says the bonds for these capital projects will be spread out over time. She said the first will probably be for about $400 million in March or April with the second bond coming in the fall.