NextDecade: At least 35 percent of workers at Rio Grande LNG will be from RGV

HARLINGEN, Texas - Of the 5,000 workers needed to construct a liquefied natural gas export terminal at the Port of Brownsville, 1,750 will be local hires.That is the pledge from NextDecade, the company building Rio Grande LNG.“We are anticipating that during peak construction, we're going to have up to 5,000 people working on the project. And we're really aiming to have at least 35% of those people be from the (Rio Grande) Valley,” said Susan Richardson, senior director of communications at NextDecade and Rio Grande LNG.Richardson gave her comments in an exclusive interview with the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service during a company open house event at Texas State Technical College in Harlingen.Richardson said NextDecade has “actually made a commitment to the community that we would have 35 percent (of workers) if not more from the Valley.”Richardson predicted: “In the longer term, after the project is completed, we’ll have 350 to 400 full time long-term employees.”Editor's Note: To read the full story go to the Rio Grande Guardian website.Go to www.riograndeguardian.com to read the latest border news stories and watch the latest news videos.