(The Center Square) – The Ascension Economic Development Corporation is working with 32 potential projects representing $24 billion in possible capital investment and 2,393 new jobs, according to the parish’s annual financial report released Monday.
Of the 32 projects, six represent $825 million in potential investment and 22 new jobs — the highest-value proposals currently under review.
Parish officials said they were bound by nondisclosure agreements and could not name the projects. But at least two are known for sure: the $5.8 billion Hyundai steel plant and $4 billion ammonia facility announced this spring.
Gov. Jeff Landry joined President Donald Trump, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Susan Bourgeois, state Senate President Cameron Henry, R-Jefferson Parish, and state Rep. Ken Brass, D-Vacherie, to announce the Hyundai project earlier this year.
The ammonia facility, being built by CF Industries, has been touted as a record-setter.
“Upon completion, the ammonia facility on the West Bank of Ascension Parish will be the largest facility of its kind in the world,” the agency said.
Since 2006, Ascension Parish has recorded more than $27.2 billion in capital investment from new and expanding businesses, along with 5,508 direct new jobs. The parish’s economy is anchored by the Gulf Coast chemical industry, which continues to be a leading region for U.S. chemical manufacturing.
Ascension “consistently ranks in the top ten parishes (counties) in the U.S. for annual per capita business investment,” the report noted.
The combination of job growth and a high-performing public school system has made Ascension one of the fastest-growing parishes in the nation, with the highest household income in Louisiana.
The development corporation said promotion of the 17,000-acre RiverPlex Mega Park site remains a major focus of business attraction efforts. The parish also has eight certified, development-ready sites to accommodate new industry.
Parish officials credited petrochemical companies – the largest taxpayers in Ascension – with driving local growth through plant expansions and ongoing capital commitments.
For fiscal year 2025, ad valorem and sales tax collections make up about 56% of the parish’s budgeted revenue. The 2025 operating budget includes increases in employee health insurance and personnel costs.
