By Louisiana Economic Development
Louisiana’s development-ready certified sites are backed by a superior logistics, pro-business strategy.
Louisiana has an expansive portfolio of certified industrial sites ready for development. And while other states may claim the same, none boasts a stronger commitment to shovel-ready business investment ‒ or a more rigorous prequalification process ‒ than Louisiana.
Louisiana Economic Development’s Certified Sites Program sets a high bar, providing a valuable advantage for those looking to invest in the state. By declaring a site’s readiness for development, Louisiana lets potential investors know that much of the startup work has already been handled.
Here’s how the program works:
A site can be recommended by anyone from stakeholders, property owners, municipalities and parishes, to economic development organizations, utilities and ports.
LED’s staff reviews the site’s readiness for development and a formal preliminary assessment, known as an Initial Site Evaluation (ISE), is conducted by third-party engineers.
Involved parties enter into a Memorandum of Understanding, and Request for Proposals are issued for qualified engineering firms to competitively bid on performing the required due diligence.
Selected engineering companies inspect the site across a wide range of areas, from clear title evidence to environmental assessments.
When all tests and inspections are successfully completed, and LED ensures that all criteria are met, the site is officially granted certified site status.
To assist companies making complex site identification decisions, LED has secured or has access to Geographic Information System (GIS) maps for every region of the state—enabling project managers to locate suitable sites quickly.
While other states may favor a simpler process, Louisiana’s high standard for certification is advantageous for potential investors. Several major national and international companies have benefited from securing certified sites in the state:
Amazon. A Shreveport certified site hosts the world’s largest online retailer at a 3.2-million-square-foot facility that is five stories tall and four football fields across.
First Solar. The largest solar energy manufacturer in the Western Hemisphere selected Louisiana as the site of its fifth American manufacturing facility and will invest up to $1.1 billion to produce high-performance photovoltaic (PV) solar modules.
Syrah Resources. The Australian company is expanding its graphite processing facility, giving the state a supply-chain foothold in the rapidly expanding market for EV components produced in the U.S.
The state’s development-ready sites combine with a superior transportation infrastructure, providing access to domestic and global markets:
- Six Mississippi River deep draft ports, combining to handle the most domestic cargo in the nation.
- Six Class I railroads, spanning over 3,000 miles. New Orleans is the only place in America where six Class I railroads converge with a deepwater seaport.
- More than 1,000 miles of interstate, connecting all corners of the state with major regional markets such as Atlanta, Dallas and Houston.
- Nearly 50,000 miles of pipelines, integrated to crisscross every major highway, railroad and navigable waterway in the state.
- The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, the nation’s first and only deepwater oil port.
A Port of New Orleans expansion adds to Louisiana’s infrastructure legacy and furthers the state’s draw for companies looking at available sites. The port recently announced a public-private partnership to develop and operate the $1.8 billion Louisiana International Terminal (LIT) container facility, dramatically increasing Louisiana’s import and export capacity. At full build-out, LIT is expected to handle two million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) annually, taking advantage of the deeper 50-foot Lower Mississippi River Ship Channel and strengthening Louisiana’s ability to attract distribution centers, logistics services and value-added services through Port NOLA’s multimodal connectivity.
Moving the project along, Port NOLA has been granted $73.8 million from the federal government’s infrastructure funds, along with an additional $226 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Louisiana lawmakers have also committed nearly $30 million toward development costs for the project, and the state also committed $50 million for the design of the St. Bernard Transportation Corridor that will connect the terminal to the interstate system.
These types of long-term infrastructure investments allow Louisiana’s ports to maintain their critical role in global supply chains, accounting for 25 percent of all U.S. waterborne commerce. They also help explain why Louisiana is home to five of the top 15 U.S. ports by tonnage and the largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal in the country.
Other major draws for site selectors include a diversified economic base, abundant natural resources, and a nationally recognized workforce program, provided at no cost to qualifying businesses. The state continues to be an ideal location for energy, advanced manufacturing and process industries.
The results speak for themselves. Capital investment in Louisiana is skyrocketing. It has increased annually every year since 2017 and exceeded $20 billion in announced projects three years in a row for the first time in state history.
Louisiana’s manufacturing jobs – the “gold standard” indicator of economic health, due to their positive ripple effect on the economy at large – ended 2023 at their highest level in eight years. Steadily increasing private investment and job creation are foundational factors contributing to the lowest unemployment rate in state history in 2023.
That kind of economic development success would be impossible without foundational strength, as there have been significant investments to bolster the state’s infrastructure and strengthen public and higher education.
Identifying the ideal location is the critical first step to any successful business location decision. And in that category, Louisiana stands out.
Begin your site search today at LouisianaSiteSelection.com/LED, which offers GIS mapping technology of available locations, each with its own extensive library of documents and access to map layers for transportation, FEMA data, National Wetlands Inventory and incentive boundaries.
