Groundbreaking set for Honda/LG battery plant

A groundbreaking date has been set for the second-largest construction project in Ohio’s history.

Site preparation began on Nov. 14 at the Mid-West Mega Commerce Center for the Honda/LG joint venture electrical vehicle (EV) battery plant and the ceremonial groundbreaking to kick off the $3.7 billion project is scheduled for Feb. 28.

Late last year, Honda and LG signed a Project Labor Agreement with the Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council to construct the EV battery plant on 454 acres in the Fayette County town of Jeffersonville.

The project will create at least 5,300 jobs for members of the building trades and 2,200 full-time permanent jobs.

Situated in the southwesternmost county within the Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council jurisdiction, the facility neighbors the jurisdiction of two other building and construction trades councils – Dayton and Tri-Sate – and is one county away from the Greater Cincinnati Building and Construction Trades Council territory.

The location of the facility means Honda and LG will not have to directly compete for skilled workers with Intel and the many other construction projects taking place in downtown Columbus or just east of the city.

Instead, they will rely on a workforce from multiple building trades council jurisdictions to construct their 3 million-square-foot structure.

No stranger to PLAs, Honda has relied on the building trades to construct, maintain, retool and expand its operations since it announced it would build assembly plants in Ohio 45 years ago.

Now, union construction workers will build Honda’s electrical vehicle hub in Ohio.

In addition to the EV plant, work on three other Ohio Honda manufacturing plants has also been announced. The automaker plans to spend about $700 to retool its Anna Engine Plant, East Liberty Plant and Marysville Auto Plant for the electrified future.

Actual construction will begin once Honda and LG are granted regulatory approval to form the joint venture company.

Once work begins, it will be performed under an aggressive schedule. Initial timelines have the work wrapping up in late 2024, with the start of mass production in 2025.

Late in 2022, TYK, a joint venture between Turner Construction Co., Yates Construction and Kokosing Industrial, was announced as the project’s general contractor.