The Regional Development Authority is expected to be a key driver of economic development in Indiana and Illinois.
Indiana Commissioner of Transportation Tom Sharp on Monday said RDA projects can be fully integrated with the state's Major Moves transportation initiative.
Speaking at the Moving Northwest Indiana Forward forum, Sharp said Northwest Indiana can play a roll in moving a wide range of products into Indiana and out of Indiana.
The project in Northwest Indiana most closely tied to Major Moves would be an intermodal port to transfer cargo among rail, air, truck and ships, Sharp said. That project would benefit RDA members in Lake County and Porter County.
"The future of those two counties, and it looks like maybe three (LaPorte County), ... is logistics," Sharp said. "There is no doubt in my mind."
In addition to being part of Indiana's economy, Northwest Indiana also is an integral part of the greater Chicago economy, according to Mary Sue Barrett, president of the Metropolitan Planning Council of Chicago.
She told the Moving Northwest Indiana Forward audience it is important to remember the gross domestic product of the greater Chicago economy would be outranked by only 10 countries in the world.
"There is tremendous potential if we work together," Barrett said.
The newly formed RDA and Illinois development groups can work together to make the Chicago area economy even bigger.
"The challenge of today's conference is to build understanding and build momentum," Barrett said.
Indiana brings some pretty hefty assets to that partnership, including the most interstate highway miles of any state in the union and the ninth-biggest rail system for moving freight.
And the fact that "all rails lead to Chicago" makes it imperative Northwest Indiana do more to strengthen links there, Sharp said. Chicago is not only the portal to the western United States, but to the world as well.
"We are a world player," Sharp said.
"We are part of a world economy. We have to join that world economy. We can't pretend it doesn't exist."