12 | City of Victoria, Tx located on 16 acres of the industrial park. As Fowler affirms, “This strengthens our ability to train workers in all industries.” And to be sure, there are other industries which have long figured in Victoria’s economic strength. EDC Vice President of Marketing Adrian Cannady says a former economic impact study identified that the region’s healthcare industry equates to a billion dollars of annual revenue. Cannady says he has been especially encouraged to see how the medical community is responding to growth, and in one case, a school is advancing in delivery of professional development services crucial to healthcare. Texas A&M University has recently announced the establishing of a new residency program through a partnership with DeTar Healthcare System which has acute care hospitals in Victoria. The petrochemical industry has been a major player in the region for years too. Victoria is one of the larger communities in the vicinity of Eagle Ford Shale. In the development of oil and gas, Eagle Ford Shale not only represents the largest single economic development in the history of Texas, but the largest industry development in the world in terms of capital invested. This year, more than $30 billion will be invested in this enterprise. Though Victoria isn’t located at the epicenUniversity of Houston Baseball City of Victoria, Tx | 13 ter of all those mining operations, Fowler says industries such as Eagle Ford Shale typically spur the growth of other businesses, new jobs, new housing, which all again adds to the economic vitality of the region. Fowler observes that only five years ago, there were many people speculating that there would never be another major petrochemical facility complementing economic activity in this gulf coast region, but all of that has changed. Last month, the delivery of more than 1.3 million barrels of crude was accommodated by operations at the Port of Victoria, in fact, for the last few months; the port has averaged more than a million barrels of monthly transit. Fowler says he is also seeing expansion occurring among the major petrochemical companies in the area. Formosa Plastics, a driving economic force for more than 30 years, is currently undertaking a $1.7billion expansion project in the county just adjacent to Victoria. With businesses growing, educational and employment opportunities increasing, and new companies coming to Victoria, there’s little wonder as to why the EDC, as well as all others in Victoria, are especially excited about the economic future of this Texas community. Not one to rest on laurels, Fowler says the EDC is still focused on Underpass DECEMBER 2023 THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE AMERICA - SOUTH
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