It’s a busy year for Iberia Parish, and Parish President Larry Richard was happy to give an update on some of the big projects currently happening in the area at Thursday’s New Iberia Kiwanis Club meeting. 

Speaking at the event center on Lewis Street, Richard highlighted some of the major business developments happening in the parish like the massive First Solar manufacturing facility and warehouse as well as infrastructure developments like the road program taking place later this year. 

“We have about $2.1 billion worth of projects going on right now in Iberia Parish,” Richard said. “We are very busy.”

The First Solar development has been years in the making, and parish government has been working diligently on infrastructure developments to accommodate the 2.4 million square foot facility, which Richard said is nine times larger than the square footage of the Louisiana Superdome. 

Supplying the natural gas, electricity and water to develop the infrastructure necessary for the facility to be operational has been in the works for more than a year and took a large investment from both First Solar and the parish government. 

Infrastructure development, especially near U.S. 90, has seen a recent boost thanks to the development of First Solar. 

“When I see Highway 90, in my mind that’s the main drag of Iberia Parish like St. Peter or Main is for the city (of New Iberia),” he said. “Us not having natural gas, water, sewer, fiber, we had to figure out how to stabilize that and bringing First Solar helped a lot.”

Other developments, like the Delta Biofuel facility in Patoutville, are also slated to bring in more dollars to the parish. Richard said there was a “little competition” in the parish due to so many people being hired, and families that had moved to Houston or north Louisiana years ago are suddenly coming back to the parish due to the recent influx of job opportunities. 

“Iberia parish will always be an oil and gas parish, but we’re diversifying and we’re starting to get people back here,” he said. 

Another large project for the parish, Richard said, was the incoming road program that is happening as a result of the tax passed last year by the voters. The tax has given the parish dedicated funding to repair the roads, and has resulted in a $17 million bond that will be divided into three phases. 

Richard said 30 roads are getting ready to be put out for bid, and he expects construction to start late in the year. The Iberia Parish Council also approved another $750,000 for road repairs specifically in the Port of Iberia area, which will also be taking place in the near future.