On February 23rd, Governor Jeff Landry joined members of the Shreveport City Council to announce three brand new Amazon data centers to be built in the Caddo and Bossier districts. One is set to be five miles north of Benton, another 4 miles south of Caddo Lake, and the last one is in west Shreveport, a part of the Resilient Tech Park off of Greenwood Road. Combined, the three facilities represent a $12 billion investment, marking one of the largest economic commitments in Louisiana's recent history. This is the story of a $12 billion promise to Northwest Louisiana and its people, still waiting to understand what such an investment means for them.

The project is expected to create 540 direct jobs operating the campuses and approximately 1,700 jobs through construction and related industries. Amazon has also committed to investing 400 million dollars in water infrastructure in the surrounding areas with the goal of increasing water infrastructure and reliability for the data center.* [3] These upgrades will also have the by-product of making the water service more reliable to the community that uses it. They will also be putting 250 million in a community fund meant to support local STEM education and environmental initiatives. The nonprofit ChangeX was given control over this fund, and they will give out grants of up to ten thousand dollars at their discretion.* [3]

The data centers have been touted by Jeff Landry and the Shreveport City Council as an incredible financial opportunity. This is because the jobs created by the center are set to pay above 150% of the state-wide average yearly salary. Not only because of that, but also because of the taxes Amazon will pay back to the state to have its data centers here. "Put Louisiana at the center of operations relied on across the country," * [4] he said in a recent interview. 

Despite the immense support shown by Louisiana officials, the data centers are not without their dissenters. Many community members are concerned about the lack of transparency among officials, along with the long-term repercussions.

Stay tuned for part two, where I cover the community's concerns and share what I found when I reached out to officials for answers