Dramatic growth at Fort Benning, Aflac's campus expansion and a hot construction industry will be the engine driving growth in Columbus over the next decade, say economists and labor experts.
The Chattahoochee Valley as a whole, meanwhile, will get a major shot in the arm from South Korea-based Kia Motor Corp.'s decision to locate an auto assembly factory in West Point, Ga., about 40 minutes north of Columbus. Kia anticipates employing nearly 3,000 at the plant, while parts suppliers could generate more than 2,000 more jobs.
The growth begins this year, however, for an area that already has a trade population of 610,000 people. The University of Georgia's Selig Center for Economic Growth expects 3,600 jobs to be created locally in 2006, with as many as 18,000 materializing through 2010, said Jeff Humphreys, an economist and the Selig Center's director. ...
