Lincoln, Neb. ? A Kansas-based company has bought the Beatrice Biodiesel plant in southeast Nebraska for $5 million.

Flint Hills Resources LLC submitted the only bid at the bankruptcy auction Tuesday in Lincoln. Flint Hills is a subsidiary of Koch Industries Inc.

Construction of the $52.5 million plant began in August 2007, but it never started operations. Bankruptcy was declared in 2008.

Among Flint Hills’ other operations, it has ethanol plants in four Iowa communities: Fairbank, Iowa Falls, Menlo and Shell Rock.

A Flint Hills spokesman declined to release other details of the acquisition or Flint Hills’ plans for the plant.

Flint Hills is based in Wichita, Kan.