Louisiana AG visits Port of Caddo-Bossier

SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) — Building up the Port of Caddo-Bossier through economic development and job growth.

That was topic of discussion Wednesday between port leaders and Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry.

“I think that one of the most unique things about this port that I really haven’t seen, there are some great ports in Louisiana, but they really have been able to master all of the central needs, electricity, natural gas, rail, waterways,” Landry said.

A big part of having more jobs at the port is building workers’ skill sets, he added.

“We need human beings that have a skill set to be able to attract those businesses and industries here. And that’s one of the things that we know from the indicators that we are failing on. And, quite frankly, I believe that’s one of the things that’s driving such a high crime rate.”

Understanding that these jobs are out there is part of the process, according to Landry.

“But I think we have a correlation between a bad educational system and juvenile crime,” he said. “And making sure that young men and women actually understand that there are some great things that they can do besides going to college, make great money, raise a family and support a family.”

Eric England, the port’s executive director, agreed that safety and education are needed to build a strong work force.

“One of the main things that we discussed today was as an economic development agency for the region, we have sites available for development. We can install the infrastructure that will recruit and land jobs for the area,” he said. “But we’ve got to make sure we have all the necessary backup support systems in place, everything from safety to education, making sure that we have that qualified work force here.”

England also said that building up the port takes a team and that having statewide support is important to the facility’s future growth.

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