As Virginia rebounds from the challenges of the pandemic, it’s clear that our sound fiscal management, stable business and regulatory climate, and record investments in higher education and infrastructure under Gov. Ralph Northam are helping Virginia not just recover but thrive.
This summer, CNBC named the commonwealth America’s Top State for Business, the first state to win that title back-to-back. This ranking speaks to our inclusive, commonsense policies, and is a testament to Virginia’s strong business climate, our workers and our education system. We see the evidence every day, as businesses choose Virginia.
In fact, Northam’s administration has been involved in more than 850 new economic development projects for Virginia. Those projects total nearly 100,000 new jobs and, thanks to major investments from the data center sector establishing new campuses, more than $77 billion in capital investment — an all-time record during a single administration. This includes 24,000 new jobs and nearly $15 billion in investment in distressed communities, and 13,000 new jobs and more than $10 billion in investment in rural communities.
These investments and jobs are in every corner of the state.
Newport News Shipbuilding’s expansion means 2,000 jobs in Newport News, and CMA CGM is adding 415 jobs in Norfolk and Arlington. In the Danville-Pittsylvania County area, Morgan Olson is bringing 700 jobs. And in Rockingham County, Merck is bringing 152 jobs.
The Northam administration secured the largest capital investment from a single manufacturing project in Virginia history, Micron’s $3 billion investment to expand its semiconductor production facility in Manassas, creating 1,100 new jobs.
We also announced the largest manufacturing investment and employment project in rural Virginia history with Blue Star-AGI’s $714 million, 2,464-job rubber and glove manufacturing facilities in Wythe County.
The Northam administration developed Virginia’s first-ever International Trade Strategic Plan, calling for a 50% expansion of exports over the next 10-15 years. To dramatically increase our export and import capacity, we completed a $320 million expansion at the Port’s Virginia International Gateway container terminal.
Northam’s administration landed Amazon’s HQ2, the largest competitive economic development project in U.S. history. The HQ2 project brings at least 25,000 new jobs and $2.5 billion in capital investment.
A core component of our proposal to Amazon was increased investment in Virginia’s higher education and skills training programs, with emphasis on science and technology fields. That’s why we launched the $1.1 billion Tech Talent Investment Program, training Virginians for high-paying technology jobs across the commonwealth. By doubling the number of computer science graduates each year, this initiative represents the largest investment in computer science education in U.S. history.
We also launched the G3 program, “Get Skilled, Get a Job, Get Ahead,” to provide tuition-free community college to lower-income students who pursue careers in high-demand fields. And we launched the Virginia Talent Accelerator Program, Virginia’s world-class custom workforce solutions program, recently ranked top two in the United States.
We are especially proud of the Northam administration’s historic investments in broadband. After investing $75 million over three years, Northam and the General Assembly prioritized building this essential infrastructure and closing the digital divide further, by allocating $700 million in federal funds to connect homes and businesses throughout Virginia. Since this commitment was announced, localities and private-sector partners have proposed $1.2 billion in matching funds. That means we’ll have nearly $2 billion in broadband projects underway soon — accelerating the deployment of last-mile broadband to unserved areas by 2024. In just a few years, Virginia will have truly universal access to broadband — one of the first states in the country to achieve this.
Virginia’s economic recovery continues to outperform the nation. Or unemployment rate just dropped to 3.8% and is consistently below the national rate. Northam’s commitment to economic development and job creation as a top priority over the last four years is unparalleled. The governor and our General Assembly have laid the groundwork to ensure Virginia outpaces the nation in economic prosperity for years to come.
Brian Ball is the Virginia secretary of Commerce and Trade.
