Here is the response, and in my reply to this engineer just now, I pointed out that the hyper-partisan concerns here at DP have been both predictable and tedious, LOL. I'll let you know how he responds to that:
Short answer is it's a good thing for the people who work there (like Kelly) and the region. The Saudis intend to invest a lot of money in that plant to keep it world-class. Anytime a company invests that kind of money in a plant, it means they intend to keep it for a long time, which provides a good foundation for the local economy--incremental jobs, and not only just for the people who work directly for the company. All the city, school, county taxing entities (if they don't give it all away in incentives), contractors, subcontractors, material suppliers, service providers, restaurants, grocery stores, etc. will see the trickle-down effect of that much money.
A lot of it (most of it) will be spent with companies outside the local area and region, but even 20% (if that's what winds up being spent locally) is still a lot of money that turns over several times in the local economy. The reason most of the money will get spent elsewhere is that the major material and equipment suppliers are located out of state and/or out of country. Major engineering firms are located out of the region--a lot in Houston, though. Large regional/national/international construction companies will probably be brought in to do the work and will bring travelers to supplement the local/regional craft labor. Most of that money will be sent to whereever the company is headquartered. But while the people that work for these companies are in the area, some of that money will get spent locally too.
It's a good thing. They could be spending it in another part of world...
And I would add that parts of the "Golden Triangle" have never recovered from Hurricane Rita, which instantly followed Katrina.
