Details emerge on $2B EV manufacturing project coming to Richland County.

• Position: Electric vehicles

South Carolina beat out 74 other locations to win a $2 billion investment from Scout Motors Inc. for a new plant to produce electric SUVs and trucks in Blythewood, according to the Virginia-based company's president and CEO Scott Keogh.

Requirements for the proposed new plant will also lead state officials to seek more than $1.2 billion in funding from the legislature for infrastructure projects including a new railroad bridge over Interstate 77, a new interchange, other road improvements and upgrades to utilities.

That and other details about the historic economic deal for Richland County were discussed Monday at an online roundtable featuring Keogh, Gov. Henry McMaster and South Carolina Secretary of Commerce Harry Lightsey.

"We needed a state ready to do business when we decided to relaunch and reintroduce Scout, and South Carolina proved it was ready from the moment conversations started," Keogh said. "It was just over two months from the time we started conversation until the decision was made. The state was very professional from the beginning."

Related content: Scout Motors to build $2B electric vehicle manufacturing plant in Richland County

Keogh said factors in choosing the manufacturing site in a Richland County-owned industrial park off I-77 included location, the available labor pool, prospective talent coming out of area colleges and universities, and the fact that South Carolina already is home to hundreds of companies that manufacture parts for the automotive supply chain.

The amount of Scout Motors' investment and the project's potential to create 4,000 or more permanent jobs would set all-time records as the largest economic development project in Richland County history, according to county officials.

Company officials hope to break ground on the Blythewood plant later this summer and begin production by the end of 2026.

The Scout plant will be located in the southwest quadrant of the industrial park along Blythewood Road. The Blythewood Industrial Site spans 1,600 acres, and the Scout plant is expected to occupy 1,100 acres, according to figures released by the Richland County Economic Development Office.

Keogh said the need to begin building more EVs at a faster pace as the country prepares to make the massive consumer pivot away from internal combustion engines made speed a crucial factor in the decision to pick South Carolina.

"Some states were still shuffling paperwork after 60 days the moment and the market do not...