It’s been a big week for Vicksburg and Warren County. Not one, but two big announcements have been made by the Vicksburg Warren Economic Development Partnership in the last five days alone. Together, they represent more than $435 million of investments in Vicksburg, as well as more than 60 new jobs.

In our Wednesday edition, we reported the announcement from Ergon Refining that the company will be expanding into gasoline production, which will trigger more than $400 million in local investment and will generate 20 new jobs. 

Last month, as part of my journey with this year’s Leadership Vicksburg class, I was able to visit and tour Ergon. I was floored by the extensive work they do around the world. Even more impressive to me is the fact that the company has grown from an upstart in Jackson to the major operation it is today in just 70 years! That’s impressive, you guys. And the expansion obviously continues. And if you think 20 jobs for our area is a drop in the bucket, I implore you to do the math on what that many well-paying positions can do for a city.

But that’s not all. In today’s edition of The Post, we reported on yet another announcement: This time the Economic Development Partnership announced a $35.6 million investment in Vicksburg and the creation of 44 new jobs as a result of Terral Riverservice subsidiary Vicksburg Shipyard acquiring assets and land at the Port of Vicksburg.

And there are more announcements coming down the pike, I’m told, in the near future. But that’s all the information that is able to be reported at this moment in time. But, that should be enough to keep the excitement over Vicksburg’s future at fever pitch. 

We all know the Port of Vicksburg is expanding to a site south of Interstate 20. At the moment, plans to begin work on the entrances are being ironed out following environmental work that had to be concluded before any construction could begin. That project is no small thing; in fact, it has the potential to reshape our city and county in a way most areas can only dream about.

Vicksburg is extremely well-situated, both geographically and culturally, to see rapid expansion in the years to come. And it shouldn’t fly under the radar that all of this work comes as the result of a partnership between the city, county and economic development organizations, with other entities too numerous to name also chipping in. That kind of teamwork doesn’t happen everywhere.

So, at a time in our country where a lot of news isn’t necessarily celebratory, we should all feel lucky to live in a place where expansion is taking place and the future looks very, very bright.

Blake Bell is the general manager and executive editor of The Vicksburg Post. He can be reached at blake.bell@vicksburgpost.com.