Chaisson says it is one of two big local prospects

By KEVIN CHIRI

Editor and Publisher

LAPLACE – The board for the Port of South Louisiana has approved seeking $200 million in bonds that would support yet another large industrial company which apparently has intentions to locate in the River Region.

Port of South Louisiana Executive Director Joel Chaisson said that board members approved the bonds at their Monday meeting, which should help the funding for a large company in St. James Parish, which is expected to locate on land near the Sunshine Bridge on the West Bank.

The company is expected to bring as many as 350 new jobs, in the salary range of $40,000 to $60,000.

“We’ve been working on a number of these large companies for a while and we are getting close to finalizing the deal for them,” Chaisson said.

The newest company, which still is not ready to reveal its name, will be a “refining connected company, with pipelines and tank storage facilities,” according to Chaisson.

The announcement about the newest company being close to being a reality wasn’t even the biggest news

coming out of the port meeting as Chaisson said there is an even bigger company which could come to the land in St. James Parish which had been sought to secure a large steel mill from Germany.

Chaisson said that company could invest $350 million in their plant.

“Right now a lot of companies are trying to utilize the Go-Zone bond program, which gives them great tax incentives to locate here,” he said. “But even for the first company which we approved the $200 million in bonds for, it is a certainty they are coming. It’s just a question about whether the funding for them is from the Go-Zone bonds or from somewhere else.”

The port also approved $9 million for a dock on the river to be built, all as part of the program to lure more businesses to the region.

As for enough labor for the continued flow of new industry to the area, Chaisson didn’t seem concerned.

“If the companies come, the people will come from other areas of the country for the jobs,” he said. “There are a lot of areas in the country where people are looking for jobs. I believe a lot of them will re-locate here, which is something else that should help our real estate to pull out of the slump it has been in.”

Chaisson also was vocal about what he thinks is the need to utilize workers from out of the country.

“Our country needs a better host worker program for so many people who are now illegal aliens, but worry about working and being caught, and then being sent home,” he said. “Many of those people are hard workers who aren’t afraid to work from dawn to dusk. We need to find a way to utilize them.”