Meta data center nets $875m in Louisiana contracts

Meta has been pretty busy in rural Louisiana, and not in a vague, corporate way. In the first year of building its Richland Parish data centre, the company says it has signed more than $875 million worth of contracts with Louisiana businesses. That is a lot of money staying in the state rather than being shipped elsewhere.

What stands out is how local the work has been. Meta says it has worked with more than 160 Louisiana companies so far, and most of them, about 84%, are based in Northeast Louisiana. The build itself is huge, a four-million-square-foot campus, with Turner Construction, DPR Construction and Mortensen Construction leading the project.

All that activity needs people. Around 3,700 construction workers have already been involved, and Meta expects the workforce to peak at about 5,000 by June. That means steady work and steady income for a lot of families in the area.

State officials say the knock-on effects are already showing up. Susan Bourgeois, Louisiana’s economic development secretary, said the project has pushed local contractors, tech firms and service providers to grow their teams and build new capabilities. In other words, businesses are not just getting one-off work; they are getting stronger.

Meta has also been working on some of the less obvious issues that come with a project like this. It teamed up with Entergy to change how electricity payments are structured, cutting the cost of grid upgrades and storm charges by about 10%. Over 15 years, the company says that should add up to around $650m in savings for customers. On top of that, Meta is putting $15m into Entergy’s customer assistance programme to help people who struggle with their energy bills.

Water use is another concern people often raise about data centres. Meta says this site will return all of the water it uses back into local watersheds, including the Boeuf, Tensas and Lower Mississippi. Last year, it also expanded partnerships to support five water restoration projects.

There is a lot of spending on basic infrastructure too. Meta says it has put more than $300m into roads, water and wastewater improvements in the area. It is also committing $300,000 to the Richland Revitalization Board to support projects in towns like Rayville, Delhi and Mangham.

Beyond that, the company says it is supporting senior services, upgrading cemetery facilities, backing school robotics programmes and investing in workforce development linked to mixed reality. Grants from its Data Center Community Action Grant Program are expected to be announced in the spring.

For anyone looking for skilled trade work, Meta is pointing people to opportunities linked to the project through its website and social channels. Strip away the big numbers, and what it amounts to is a massive construction project that is pulling in local firms, creating jobs and leaving behind infrastructure that the region will use long after the build is finished.

The Recap

• $875 million contracted with Louisiana businesses during first year.
• The company has supported 3,700 construction workers to date.
• Peak construction workforce expected at 5,000 by June.