Timothy Aeppel, Jane Lanhee Lee

OAKLAND, Calif./NEW YORK (Reuters) – Intel (NASDAQ:) Corp’s plan to build a $20 billion chip-making complex on the outskirts of Columbus, Ohio is the clearest sign of a burgeoning tech sector in the U.S. Midwest, a development that is sure to raise corporate competition for workers and resources.

The state’s biggest ever Intel investment, however, New Albany’s Columbus suburb, where Intel plans to build two chip factories for its customers, has seen an influx in data centers from Alphabet and Facebook, as well as Alphabet and parent Meta of Amazon.com Inc.

Google increased its New Albany investment by $1Billion in August last year.

Gina Raimondo, Commerce Secretary of Ohio said: “Facilities similar to (the Intel factories), all these jobs are highly skilled jobs.” She said that all of the manufacturing, at any level, requires some training, and not only for PhDs.

There will be 3000 jobs in the two first Intel chip factories, with plans for eight additional factories. For the purpose of building a skilled workforce for the chip industry, it has committed $100,000,000 to Ohio’s community colleges and universities.

While other rust belt centers have suffered over the decades, Ohio’s state capital Columbus with Ohio State University and six Fortune 500 companies, including Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. and Cardinal Health Inc (NYSE:) has performed well.

Aufgrund of its close proximity to the interstate 70 which cuts across the U.S., the company has also been a major winner in the development and growth of logistics and warehousing.

Intel’s ability to access water was crucial to the success of this deal. It also requires large amounts of power and water resources. But, Intel has stated it will be 100% powered by renewable energy.

For years, Ohio has said that we have a lot of water. That would make it a strong state for the country’s industry. It was an advantage for us” said JP Nauseef of JobsOhio. He played a key role in the Intel investments.