Announcement expected to confirm $7B auto plant in Georgia

hyundai
A Hyundai Sonata sits in a Hyundai car dealership in Des Plaines, Ill., on Oct. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

A year after the state of Georgia and local government partners spent $61 million to buy a sprawling tract of land for future industrial development, Gov. Brian Kemp planned to travel to the site Friday for what his office would only describe as a “special economic development announcement.”

A Washington official has previously told The Associated Press the project will be a massive auto plant where Hyundai Motor Group will manufacture electric cars. Expected to cost $7 billion and employ up to 8,500 workers, according to two Georgia officials familiar with the plans, the plant would rank among the largest development deals ever in Georgia.

None of the three officials were authorized to discuss the project publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.