Construction set to start on Chouest LaShip yard

Houma Today reports that construction is set to start on Edison Chouest Offshore's LaShip shipyard at the Port of Terrebonne, La., with the first phase being a $20.5 million, 2,500 ft bulkhead.

Houma Today says that the Port Commission is to begin advertising Friday for the second phase--a 400 ft x 160 ft dry dock that will cost about $24 million.

The report quotes Edison Chouest senior VP Roger White as saying workers won't be hired for permanent positions until the shipyard is ready to start manufacturing vessels, which likely won't be until 2010.

Houma Today says LaShip It promises to bring 1,000 jobs to the area with salaries of at least $55,000 annually.

Meantime, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics today released employment data showing that, in January, Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, La., registered the lowest jobless rate (3.7 percent) of any of the 372 metropolitan areas in the United States.

Read the Houma Today report HERE