Now that “The Louisiana Chemical Corridor”—which includes roughly 25 south Louisiana parishes stretching from Lake Charles to Baton Rouge and down to New Orleans—has been recognized with a federal Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership designation, the real work begins.
“The hard work is just starting,” says Jonathan Shi, an LSU professor in the construction management department of the LSU College of Engineering, which is leading a coalition of 83 companies, government agencies and industry association partners that lobbied for the designation.
The Louisiana Chemical Corridor was announced Wednesday as one of just 12 U.S. regions to receive the IMCP designation. The designation, a new initiative of the Obama administration, opens the door to potentially millions of dollars in federal assistance to further the manufacturing boon in the area. In officially announcing the designation, the U.S. Commerce Department noted more than $1 billion in federal assistance is now available to the 12 U.S. regions that have just received the IMCP classification. There are 24 total regions in the country with the moniker, with 12 of them being announced last year.
Leading the 83 partners in south Louisiana is a 12-member leadership team, of which Shi is a part. He says he has already started to reach out to leadership team members to plan the next steps to take advantage of the opportunity. Those steps will include delegating responsibilities, coordinating with the 11 participating federal agencies on grant opportunities, and identifying local projects and initiatives that match the grant opportunities.
“We’re not starting from scratch. We already have a lot of strength in our chemical corridor, and the intent of the program is to build on what is already there,” Shi explains. “So we are trying to pull the resources from federal agencies and local partners to identify those areas where we can make our chemical industry even stronger and better.”
A large part of the south Louisiana coalition’s strategy involves addressing the skilled workforce shortage that’s anticipated as billions of dollars worth of announced industrial projects come to fruition over the next five years. The strategy also includes building stronger relationships between and within industries to foster greater collaboration and efficiency, as well as developing new research partnerships and increasing infrastructure and site development.
Shi says the south Louisiana coalition will be reviewed by federal agencies in two years. At that time, the area will either retain or lose the IMCP designation.
“It’s a lot of pressure,” he says. “This is only the beginning, and it’s going to be a very exciting adventure going forward.”
See a map of all of the parishes included in the south Louisiana coalition and an overview of the strategy for taking advantage of the IMCP designation.
—Steve Sanoski
