Aerospace Company Plans To Build Electric Aircraft In Georgia, But Taxpayer Subsidies Are Unknown

By T.A. DeFeo | The Center Square contributor, The Center Square Georgia

November 17, 2022

(The Center Square) — An aerospace company offering "sustainable urban air mobility" plans to spend $118 million on electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft manufacturing facility in Newton County.

Unsurprisingly, state officials would not say whether Georgia taxpayers will cover the cost of any incentives for the company.

San Jose, California-based Archer Aviation will spend $118 million over 10 years on the facility alongside the Covington Municipal Airport and plans to create 1,000 jobs.

A Georgia Department of Economic Development communications official told The Center Square that the project is "still active." The designation allows state officials to decline to release details about tax incentives the state offered to entice a company to locate in Georgia.

"Technology and innovation continue to drive change across strategic industries, and Archer Aviation is on the forefront of a technological evolution in the aviation industry," Georgia Department of Economic Development Commissioner Pat Wilson said in a statement. "Utilizing an innovative, state-of-the art eVTOL aircraft design, the company will look to sustainably tackle mobility issues in our urban centers, and we are thrilled they decided to invest in Georgia."

Covington Mayor Steve Horton said the city "has always been on the cutting edge for quality jobs and new technology" and said the airport is "one of many points of pride for Covington."

The focus of the work of The Center Square Georgia is state and local-level government and economic reporting that approaches stories with a taxpayer sensibility.