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‘The hard work is just starting’
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 July 8 as one of just 12 U.S. regions to receive the IMCP designation, which 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.
Shi says he has already started to reach out to other coalition leaders to plan the next steps to take advantage of the opportunity. Those steps will include identifying local projects and initiatives that match the grant opportunities.
“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.
—Steve Sanoski
