The plant will be built about 70km east of Adelaide and replaces the original facility destroyed by fire in January 2018.

Construction is expected to begin before the end of the year with the commissioning of Stage One within 24 months.

Stage One is expected to create about 500 jobs and will include beef processing facilities with an initial capacity of up to 600 head per day; a beef boning room with automated packaging technology; stockyards; employee amenities and administration facilities; and, fully automated carton chilling, freezing and storage systems.

The timing of further stages of the development is yet to be determined but will include the addition of sheep and lamb processing facilities and further expansion of the beef facilities in order to take the plant's total processing capacity to 1200 head of beef and 15,000 head of sheep and lamb per day.

More than 2000 jobs are expected to be created in total for the project.

Thomas Foods International chief executive officer Darren Thomas said BADGE was chosen after a comprehensive competitive tender process.

"The fire, as devastating and disruptive as it was, has given us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create something truly special. We have been determined since day one not just to replace to the facility at Murray Bridge but to build something bigger and better," Thomas said.

"We see this facility as setting the industry benchmark for technology, efficiency, environmental sustainability, animal welfare and workplace safety.

Based in Adelaide, TFI also owns meat processing plants in Tamworth, New South Wales and Lobethal, SA and is Australia's largest 100 per cent family-owned meat processing company.

In May it also announced it had acquired a 50 per cent stake in the Victoria-based Frew group, which owns a modern meat processing plant in the western Victorian town of Stawell.