By Daina Beth Solomon
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Final permits for Tesla to build an electric-vehicle (EV) factory in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon could be ready in weeks and the local government is beginning infrastructure work requested by the company, a senior official said on Thursday.
Tesla in March announced plans to open a major plant in Nuevo Leon, its first in Mexico, which has also attracted EV investments from other automakers seeking to meet ambitious production targets. The company has not given details on construction or production.
Nuevo Leon's Economy Minister Ivan Rivas said in an interview that the automaker helmed by billionaire Elon Musk is considering a bigger plant than originally envisaged, and is still hammering out design, architecture and engineering plans.
The federal government is on track to grant environmental approvals within weeks, he said, which will allow the electric-vehicle maker to begin construction.
"I'm expecting it's a matter of a couple of weeks, maximum a month," Rivas said.
Rivas said only Tesla could address its timeline for Mexico. But he said he expected production to begin far earlier than 2026 or 2027, the dates Mexican newspaper Reforma reported last month, because Nuevo Leon was aiming to quickly put infrastructure in place for water, electricity and transportation.
"We're working for this to happen very soon, so they have all the infrastructure they need to begin as soon as possible," he said.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.
Rohan Patel, Tesla's senior public policy and business development executive, in a post on the platform X, formerly Twitter, rejected a Mexican media report saying Tesla had canceled its plans and thanked local, state and federal officials.
"We are very appreciative of their efforts to enable the permits and sustainable infrastructure necessary," he said.
Nuevo Leon has agreed to build an electric power substation, a natural gas pipeline, railroad spurs, roads, and services for water and sewage, according to a Memorandum of Understanding with Tesla, seen by Reuters.
Rivas said the projects can be built before or at the same time as Tesla's own construction and will also benefit other companies.
A high-voltage electric cable that already runs above the Tesla site will be connected with a substation and transformer, he noted.
The so-called "Gigafactory" is set to bring in an estimated $15 billion over the next two years through Tesla and its suppliers, Nuevo Leon Governor Samuel Garcia said last month. The state has called for more investment in health, education, roads and basic services to accommodate the expected growth.
(Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon; Additional reporting by Kylie Madry; Editing by Rod Nickel)
