BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. -For the first time in a decade, the state Economic Development Conference is being held in the city of Bridgeport at the Conference Center in the planned community of Charles Pointe.
On WAJR’s “Talk of the Town,” President of the West Virginia Economic Development Council and Executive Director of the Huntington Area Development Council, David Lieving, said more than 300 are in attendance from across the state for the event with the theme “The Silver Lining.”
“They’re local economic development people,” Lieving said. “They’re charged with building and seeing that our workforce is skilled and we’re able to expand and attract, retain, and expand our existing business base here.”
On Monday the group took a tour of the Bridgeport community, including the North Central West Virginia Airport, AeroTech Business Park, Charles Pointe, and several other areas of economic growth—public and private.
“We got to see all of the economic growth that’s occurred over the recent years in the city of Bridgeport,” Lieving said. “Growth in the health care sector, the FBHI center, and the aerospace industry.”
The plan to expand energy production from 15 to 50 gigawatts by 2050 has been a topic of discussion at the conference. Growth to support that initiative will require labor and equipment resources that remain to be quantified, but those needs will largely be met by the efforts of the people at the conference.
“They’re trying to double down on the energy base we already have here in West Virginia and the ability to grow that,” Lieving said. “So, that will certainly help us, and that’s been a topic of discussion here and will continue to be happening in the near future.”
Lieving talked about an expected employment shift as the new Nucor facility comes online. The $4 billion investment on 1,700 acres will employ up to 800 by late 2026, causing a likely migration from other businesses in the area.
“A lot of people are going to be headed that way for work, and then that’s probably going to create opportunities for other businesses to hire and replace workers that may be moving into those higher-paid, skilled positions.”
Attendees are talking about a great deal of opportunities with changes in energy policy and additional investments from the private sector. He said the network of higher education institutions could increase enrollment in order to meet the need for skilled workers in the future.
“We’ve had some population loss over the years, and what West Virginia needs is more West Virginians,” Lieving said. “So, we need to continue to build our communities and make them attractive for people to move here so we can see our population start to grow again.”
The conference runs through Wednesday, September 24.