by T.A. DeFeo
Georgia governments and development authorities offered Hyundai Motor Group more than $1.8 billion in incentives.
In May, Hyundai said it had selected Georgia for its first fully dedicated electric vehicle and battery manufacturing facility. The plan calls for Hyundai to invest more than $5.5 billion in building the facility in the 2,923-acre Bryan County Megasite along Interstate 16, while non-affiliated Hyundai suppliers plan to invest roughly $1 billion in the project.
Hyundai received a 26-year property tax abatement and will begin making “leasehold ad valorem property tax payments” starting in 2026 after it completes the initial construction of its facility. State officials said Hyundai would pay more than $357 million during the period.
Under the deal, Georgia will give Hyundai a $50 million Regional Economic Business Assistance grant — doled out in a pair of $25 million payments — to help pay for site development, building or equipment purchases. It will also give a $112.6 million grant to the Savannah Harbor-Interstate 16 Corridor JDA for wetlands mitigation, additional land acquisition and site clearing and grading.
The state will provide a dedicated Quick Start Training Center, expected to cost $62.5 million. The Peach State will also cover operating costs and training services for five years, at an estimated cost of nearly $5 million per year.
Economic development officials plan to ask state lawmakers to allocate an additional $10.6 million for the Technical College System of Georgia to expand the existing Georgia Quick Start Advanced Manufacturing Training Center in Savannah.
The Georgia Department of Transportation plans to make $200 million in road improvements. Additionally, nearly $6.9 million in state funding will go toward a rail extension to the project site for the Georgia Central Railway, a Genesee & Wyoming subsidiary.
According to state documents, the Savannah Harbor-Interstate 16 Corridor Joint Development Authority is expected to invest more than $71.8 million. The JDA contributed $18 million to purchase the original three BCMS parcels, while a state grant funded an additional $43 million to purchase the site.
Officials said the project would create 8,100 jobs with an average salary of $58,105. Under the deal, by the end of 2031, Hyundai and its suppliers must meet 80% of their commitment to invest $5.5 billion and create 8,100; they must maintain the jobs through 2048.
“When fully staffed, the estimated payroll generated by the HMGMA project alone will reach $4.7 billion over 10 years,” Georgia Department of Economic Development Commissioner Pat Wilson said in a statement to The Center Square. “As we work together to deliver a state-of-the-art facility in Bryan County that will provide well-paying jobs to Georgians, we know Hyundai Motor Group will give back to the region, investing in our schools, families, and communities, and we are grateful for those planned investments.”
Georgia officials point to their “history of partnership” with Hyundai, saying it is “a window into what a great community and corporate partner the company will be for decades to come.” Hyundai has a controlling stake in Kia Corporation, which in 2009 agreed to invest $1.2 billion in a manufacturing plant in West Point and create 2,500 jobs.
– – –
T.A. DeFeo is a contributor to The Center Square.
