NC begins offering land owners deals near VinFast site so road construction can start
2024 was supposed to be the year the fast-moving, deep-pocketed Vietnamese automaker VinFast opened its multibillion-dollar electric vehicle plant near the unincorporated community of Moncure in eastern Chatham County. VinFast now projects its factory, the first big auto assembly plant in state history, will be ready sometime in 2025.
To avoid a further delay, the next 12 months will be critical for construction — both on and around the 1,800-acre site.
Situated 30 miles southwest of downtown Raleigh, Moncure is bracing for major changes. The small community (population: roughly 800) already has a handful of large-scale manufacturing operations nearby, but none match the promised scope of what VinFast has in mind.
By the end of the decade, VinFast says its Chatham assembly and battery plant will employ 7,500 workers. In terms of potential job creation, it is the largest economic project North Carolina has ever supported with tax incentives. Site plans include almost 3 million square feet spread across eight structures, including a 1 million-square-foot general assembly area.
VinFast officially broke ground in July, with the Chicago-based developer Clayco leading the project. On a weekday in mid-December, the area was busy with workers and machines. A construction entrance has been established in the past few months to separate the 1,765-acre site from the nearby road.
Then there’s the upcoming work surrounding the site.
In its incentive package for VinFast, North Carolina allocated $250 million to enhance local road and rail lines. A main goal is to provide direct access to the site from U.S. 1, a four-lane divided highway.
The N.C. Department of Transportation has already repaved some local roads, and in December began making offers to property owners whose land is in the path of a new highway interchange and a four-lane access road. NCDOT expects to buy 13 houses, one business and a church before it begins construction this year.
The church, Merry Oaks Baptist Church, has been on its Old U.S. 1 site for more than a century. VinFast said it will donate land for the church to relocate.
The business is the Sky Mart gas station, whose owner Dhillon Singh Hardip is frustrated with the state’s acquisition efforts. Hardip anticipates he will have to relocate 12 of his station’s 16 fuel pumps.
“It’s a big headache, and not only a headache,” he said. “I’d rather pay a million dollars to stay there.”
NCDOT confirmed it is coordinating with Hardip on a deal. The department said an appraiser contacts owners and assesses properties at fair market value. If negotiations fail, the state can also use eminent domain.
“We always work to identify the path that has the fewest impacts on people, properties and the environment,” NCDOT spokesperson Aaron Moody said in an email. “In some cases, this is unavoidable. Decisions are made balancing criteria such as safety, impacts to the natural and human environment, costs, and traffic service.”
