Georgia Getting the Job Done!

Some 254 economic development projects that will create more than 24,000 new jobs and add more than $5.7 billion in new investments either located or expanded in Georgia during fiscal 2006, according to Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue's office.

The number of projects, quantity of jobs and the amount of new investments are the most ever for the state, Perdue's office said.

Major projects announced in fiscal 2006 include: Kia Motors' new automotive assembly plant in West Point; Aflac Inc.'s expansion of Paul S. Amos Corporate Ridge campus in Columbus; and Hewlett-Packard Co.'s two new data centers in Suwanee and Alpharetta.

Slightly more than half (131 out of 253) of the fiscal 2006 projects were expansions, which accounted for 12,556 new jobs (56.2 percent of the total). The 24,660 jobs announced during the past year marked a 140 percent increase over the 10,270 jobs reported for fiscal 2005. The total investment of $5.76 billion is 303 percent more than the $1.43 billion last year, Perdue's office said.

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