Governor Bobby Jindal had to love his trip to Lake Charles on Tuesday! He was here to help officially announce that a $100 million manufacturing plant will soon be built in Lake Charles.

The facility, to be located on Port property off Big Lake Road not far from Trunkline LNG, will be the first nuclear-module manufacturing facility in the United States! A few bullet points:

• The project is a joint venture between Westinghouse and The Shaw Group, a fortune 500 construction firm based in Baton Rouge, LA
• The plant will create 1400 jobs in Lake Charles
• The combined Shaw and Westinghouse venture will generate 2,900 new jobs throughout the state
• The purpose of the plant is to to assemble building modules
• No radioactive material will be involved locally
• After assembly, the buildings will be shipped to their intended destination
• One-third of the new nuclear power plants will be built at the Shaw-Westinghouse facility in Lake Charles

Deep-water access, transportation, and availability of a skilled work force were a few of the reasons Lake Charles was selected.  Of course, the state's competitive incentive package played a major role in what is expected to generate $43 million in tax revenue alone in the coming decade.

From the Chamber Southwest to the State Department of Economic development, congratulations and thanks to all involved.

Links of interest:

New Release on Shaw Group website

Bayou Buzz coverage

Times-Picayune Article

Employment opportunities