Lake Charles is beginning to experience the effects of major capital investments in the region. Last week, the Associated General Contractors of America released that the Lake Charles metro area had a 27 percent increase in construction employment — the highest among the nearly 340 metro areas surveyed by AGC. Five other Louisiana metro areas surveyed ranked below the Lake Charles MSA.

The metro area grew from 10,600 construction jobs in July 2013 to 13,500 in July 2014, the time period surveyed by AGC.

Louisiana saw an increase of 7 percent, or 9,000 new construction jobs, with a total of nearly 140,000 statewide. Each Louisiana metro area examined by AGC saw a rise in construction jobs.

The influx of construction jobs has been attributed to Southwest Louisiana’s expanding petrochemical industry. Companies are expected to spend about $77 billion on capital investments in the region over the next three to five years.

The Cheniere Energy LNG export facility in Johnson Bayou and the Golden Nugget Casino Resort are two of the largest construction projects in the region with a combined construction workforce exceeding 5,000 workers.

An official with the Southwest Louisiana Economic Development Alliance predicts an additional 25,000-30,000 construction jobs over the next five to 10 years.

Several concerns have been raised in discussions on how to house the workers.

Greenfield Logistical Solutions broke ground in November on a $70 million housing facility it plans to build on port property to meet the area’s projected workforce demands. A similar, yet smaller, facility has been approved in Carlyss. First Flight Holdings will construct Moss Lake Village at Southland Executive Airport. A third worker village has been proposed in Vinton but has yet to be approved.

Law enforcement are also preparing for the ballooning population.

Sheriff Tony Mancuso has said the No. 1 problem facing Calcasieu Parish law enforcement for the years ahead will be the increase in traffic. He said a few solutions to traffic would be to wrap Interstate 210 around and have more four-lane roads. Mancuso expects the benefits of the population boom to be higher property values and a larger tax base.

Training has been another concern in getting the workforce prepared. Sowela Technical Community College said recently that students are already being hired before they graduate. Sowela’s enrollment continues to climb, and people are beginning to realize the potential for a great career with a degree from the college.

With all of these factors in play, regional collaboration is key in order to stay ahead of the economic boom.(MGNonline)