On Monday, December 6, the Golden LEAF Board of Directors called a special meeting to award $40 million to the North Carolina Department of Transportation for public road infrastructure to support the location of Toyota’s battery manufacturing operations.
“The Golden LEAF Board made our first award of $7 million to support the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite in 2016, planting a flag that one day North Carolina would attract a project of this magnitude to this site,” said Golden LEAF Board of Directors Chair Don Flow. “We are proud to be part of the public infrastructure improvements that will enable significant job creation and capital investment. This announcement is a win for the entire state.”
The $7 million Golden LEAF Major Site Development Initiative awarded to the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite provided needed infrastructure to increase site competitiveness and reduce the time needed for site development to attract major projects with substantial job creation and private capital investment.
“Golden LEAF is dedicated to the long-term economic advancement of North Carolina,” said Golden LEAF President, Chief Executive Officer Scott T. Hamilton. “Golden LEAF is pleased to support such a transformative project for rural, economically distressed Randolph County, the surrounding region, and the state that will have a tremendous long-term economic impact. The Golden LEAF Board of Directors made this extraordinary award of $40 million to the North Carolina Department of Transportation to ensure that there would be sufficient road infrastructure to help support the creation of 1,750 new jobs.”
Toyota’s project in North Carolina will be led by a new venture between Toyota and Toyota Tsusho Corporation, the trading arm of the Toyota Group, according to the North Carolina Department of Commerce. The new venture company will be known as Toyota Battery Manufacturing, North Carolina (TBMNC), based in Randolph County at the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite.
At the Board meeting, Golden LEAF Board members expressed their excitement for such a monumental project coming to North Carolina and all the long-term preparation that led up to the announcement.