La. leads U.S. for 2012 CiCi Awards

With four Louisiana projects netting 2012 Corporate Investment and Community Impact Awards from Trade & Industry Development magazine, the state led all others for the total number of awards received. With the four 2012 awards, also known as CiCi Awards, Louisiana tied its previous record high, set in 2009. Projects awarded in Louisiana for community impact are the Sempra Energy LNG project in Hackberry, valued at $6 billion; and the Sutherland Global Services project in Alexandria, which LED says will create more than 1,000 new direct and indirect jobs. The $2.1 billion CF Industries Holdings Inc. project in Donaldsonville and the $900 million Benteler project at the Port of Caddo-Bossier in Shreveport were named among the nation’s top corporate investment projects. Just 30 CiCi Awards were given to projects across the country. Trade & Industry Development Publisher Scot Swoger says the four awards “speaks volumes about the business climate in Louisiana. Having two companies in the Corporate Investment category announcing two of the largest capital investments in 2012 and two more in the Community Impact category is an economic development achievement that should receive the attention of site selectors.” Iowa and Kentucky had the second-most awarded projects, at three each. Check out the full list of winners here. LED has more details on the awards announcement here.