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Hyundai breaks ground on Metaplant America
Hyundai GB Jeff W
From the right, Trip Tollison, president and chief executive officer, Savannah Economic Development Authority, Pat Wilson, Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD), José Muñoz, president and chief executive officer, Hyundai Motor North America, Sean Yoon, president and chief executive officer, Kia North America and Kia America, Jay Chang, president and chief operating officer, Hyundai Motor Company, Republic of Korea Ambassador, Tae-yong Cho, Euisun Chung, executive chair, Hyundai Motor Group, Brian P. Kemp, Georgia Governor, Buddy Carter, Congressman, Raphael Warnock, Senator, Jon Ossoff, Senator, Don Graves, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce, Carter Infinger, Bryan County Commmission Chairman and Savannah JDA Chairman, Anna Chafin, president and chief operating officer, Development Authority of Bryan County, are photographed at the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America Groundbreaking Ceremony in Savannah, Georgia, on Oct. 25, 2022. - photo by Jeff Whitten
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Euisun Chung, executive chair, Hyundai Motor Group, speaks at a groundbreaking Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2022 for the company's Metaplant America in Black Creek.

Like the size of the project itself, there’s a lot still to unpack when it comes to what happened in Black Creek and Savannah on Tuesday.

But the bottom line is Hyundai Motor Group broke ground on its Metaplant America, a $5.5 billion investment in electric vehicle manufacturing which is expected to change the face of not only Bryan County but the region and state.

That event, which included a host of state, national and international business and government officials duly observed by a small army of media, was followed later by a celebgration at the Enmarket Arena in Savannah.

The News was at both events and will expand on its reporting as soon as it can.

In the meantime, one person officials say time and again was key to this project happening at all is Development Authority of Bryan County CEO Anna Chafin, who worked with Tripp Tollison at the Savannah Economic Development Authority “While the Bryan County Mega-Site was eight years in the making, things progressed very quickly once we started working with Hyundai in January of this year,” Chafin said Wednesday. “It is amazing that we announced the project in May, and now most of the site has been cleared. I think it is incredible we are already celebrating the groundbreaking, and I am very excited to see the project continue to take shape at such a rapid pace.”

The Mega-Site was initially meant to woo Volvo to the area, but that carmarker chose South Carolina. Chafin, who has been with DABC for nine years, said patience in this case was a virtue.

“I genuinely believe good things come to those who wait.

Our local, regional, and state leadership collaborated for many years to be prepared for the right company to choose the Bryan County Mega Site. From the first site visit earlier this year, I knew Hyundai was the partner we had been looking for all along. Hyundai’s commitment to invest $5.545 billion and create 8,100 jobs in Bryan County will transform many lives in our region for generations to come.”

More PHOTOS below.

 

 

 

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