Construction at VinFast’s $4 billion factory in North Carolina has been paused temporarily while the company waits for approval on updated building plans.
Chatham County is reportedly reviewing the new designs for an 850,000-sq. ft. body shop, and VinFast has received permits for retaining walls, which are under construction. The original plant design was a 995,000-sq. ft. structure.
Chatham County officials say construction is paused until a permit is issued for the revised foundation plans.
VinFast Board of Directors Chairwoman Thuy Le responded to a question about the progress on the factory during a call with investors as the company reported its first quarter 2024 earnings, according to media reports.
“North Carolina is still ongoing,” Le said. “We’re still on track to start the operations by the end of next year, start hiring a lot of workers and putting in operations by the end of next year.”
In March 2022, VinFast announced that it selected Chatham County to build its first manufacturing facility in the United States with combined incentives of $1.25 billion, including more than $300 million in payroll tax benefits if the company meets its hiring and investment targets.
The investment is the largest economic development project in North Carolina history and will create at least 7,500 jobs over five years (2023-2027). The VinFast plant will be located on the eastern side of the Triangle Innovation Point (TIP) site in Moncure.
