At his State of the Parish address, Parish President, M. Larry Richard, announced nearly $1.5 billion dollars in investments across the parish in 2023.

According to Richard, nearly all of the money invested and planned for investment into Iberia Parish is coming through state and federal funding from sources like the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and state-approved capital outlay.

The funding in Iberia Parish focuses on three key aspects: infrastructure improvements to bring business to the area and protect citizens, major corporations to bring jobs, and research development to put Iberia Parish on the map.

“There was a lot of success in Iberia Parish this year and most all of the projects we talked about. None of these dollars are truly coming from the citizens of Iberia Parish. With a lot of the projects we are doing, we are matching ARPA funds with state funds,” Richard said.

The highest volume of funding comes in the form of Infrastructure improvements. Millions of dollars have been invested into roads, including the $5.5 million in the completion of Corporate Drive. More is set to be spent on future and ongoing projects like the straightening of LA Hwy 89 to improve airport access or the major Hwy 90 renovations including lane-widening.

Richard also detailed several areas of investment for protecting against emergencies. These include the Iberia Parish Municipal Evacuation Center which will receive $12 million in funding. They are also building a flood control center using $2.8 million.

Buildings aren’t the only key renovations being made, as the Optimum Iberia Parish Fiber to Home Project received over $1 million from the Granting Unserved Municipalities Broadband Opportunities (GUMBO) grant. The project will provide high speed broadband internet to 742 homes and businesses across Iberia Parish.

“The key to moving Iberia Parish forward is building the infrastructure that we need. When I talk about infrastructure, I’m talking about Fiber, I’m talking about gas, I’m talking sewers, I’m talking about water and I’m talking about roads,” Richard said.

According to Richard, the parish plans to roll out a dedicated road fund in April of next year. They plan to implement a tax, similar to the Iberia City road millage, which will bring in a little over $4 million a year. $1 million will be used for maintenance and repair, and the rest will be invested through bonds.

“We have over 400 miles of roads in Iberia Parish. If we are gonna get this parish where it needs to be, we will have to invest in ourselves,” Richard said.

Research is another facet of the funding. The state granted $24.6 million to New Iberia Research Center (NIRC) to upgrade to Bio-Safety level-3. NIRC is one of the largest primate labs in the United States and the Bio-Safety level-2 lab was instrumental in the development and testing of Pfizer BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine. Had the facility been a level-3 Bio-Safety lab, the vaccine may have been available much earlier.

The state also approved $22.4 million in capital outlay for the University of Louisiana Lafayette’s BioInnovation Process and Manufacturing Accelerator at Progress Point Business Park. The total economic output is expected to be $144,300,000 with 550 new jobs and $10.6 million in tax revenue for the parish. Together with NIRC, this could spell the beginning of Iberia’s position as a southern biopharmaceutical hub.

A major portion of the investments made in Iberia Parish come from the introduction of the massive First Solar production facility with a minimum expected investment of 1.1 billion dollars. Combined with the $100 million Delta Biofuel facility and the BioInovation Accelerator, investments in Iberia Parish will bring over 1,000 high-wage jobs to the area.

The airport will play a major role in the sustainability of Iberia’s investments. Between the in-progress Aviation Exteriors hangar project and the completed terminal and taxiway improvements, Acadiana Regional Airport saw over $58 million in funding. All together, Richard believes these investments will propel Iberia Parish forward into an “Era of Growth”.

“I’m very proud that the people of Iberia Parish have me here to represent them for the next four years and I’m going to do the very best job that I can do, the same type of job I’ve done for eight years as the parish president. I’ve been doing this since 1999, over two decades, I’ve never ever ever seen anything that talked about 1.5 billion dollars in a calendar year for me, I almost can’t stop talking about it, it’s a huge deal for us,” Richard said.