In the first quarter, the state of Mississippi announced two record economic development projects, he says. One is a $1.9-billion corporate capital investment for a battery plant located in Marshall County and the other is a $10-billion investment for data center complexes in two industrial parks in neighboring Madison County. 

“The outlook for the construction business in Jackson metro area is positive,”  McCaskill says. “In addition to the increase in industrial work, health care and commercial market sectors remain steady. Several health care systems have large projects planned to break ground in the next 12 months.” 

According to McCaskill, “Higher education institutions have several projects planned to start this year as well.” He says Mississippi University for Women in Columbus, Miss., near the Alabama border, will begin a $7.1-million renovation and historic preservation of the 47,000-sq-ft landmarked Jones Hall dormitory that opened in 1964.