Meta announces $50 billion investment in Louisiana data center and surrounding areas

Quick Look

• At a critical time for the data center industry, hyperscaler Meta announced on Monday that it will invest in its data center and surrounding areas in Richland Parish, Louisiana.More than $50 billion。
• The parent company of Facebook and Instagram said the funding marks one of the largest artificial intelligence infrastructure investments globally.
• The figure also signals significant growth. In 2024,Meta announced plans to invest $10 billionfor project development and commissioned Turner Construction, DPR Construction, and Mortenson for construction. Subsequently, according to CNBC reports,the figure was raised to $27 billion in October。

Deep Insight

With the expansion, the new data center facility will reach nearly 10 million square feet and 5 gigawatts of IT capacity, making it the largest data center in Meta's global fleet, and according to the Louisiana Department of Economic Development,one of the largest data centers ever built. The project broke ground in December 2024broke ground。

Meta's Business and Infrastructure Communications Manager Ashley Settle told Construction Dive via email that Turner and Mortenson are the general contractors for the expansion, while DPR is responsible for the first phase of the project. According to Turner spokesperson Chris McFadden, Turner and Mortenson are alsodelivering the first phase of construction。

Settle said Meta planned the expansion with these three companies, which is "based on business needs."

In Louisiana, according to company announcements, Meta will fully pay for the energy, water, and related infrastructure that the data center will use. It highlighted an agreement with utility provider Entergy Louisianaagreement, under which Meta will fund the construction of seven new natural gas power plants, approximately 240 miles of new 500 kV transmission lines, battery energy storage systems at three sites, and other improvements.

According to LED, the project will support 7,500 construction jobs during peak construction. Louisiana is also home toMeta's $115 million U.S. Workforce Academyone of four pilot locations, which will provide technical trade training and job opportunities for data center projects.

"In just two years, we have secured over $15 billion in new investment by creating an environment where businesses can move quickly and build at scale," Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry said in the LED announcement.

Data center construction has become thedarlingof the construction industry in 2026, achieving the largest growth in nearly every measurable metric. However, this strong momentum has been offset by weakness in other parts of the industry that have struggled to keep pace.

But community opposition to large-scale construction is also growing rapidly. The day before Meta's announcement, New York Governor Kathy Hochul issued a statewide moratorium onenvironmental permits for data centers, a first in the United States. Hochul signed the executive order on Tuesday, highlighting the pressure data centers are placing on rising utility bills for New York City residents.