US electric carmaker Tesla could start building its large new production plant on the outskirts of Berlin as early as this month, the Economy Ministry for the German state of Brandenburg said on Monday.
Economy Minister Joerg Steinbach expects construction to start in the second half of March, a ministry spokesman said in the state capital of Potsdam, confirming an earlier report in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper.
Objections to the plant can still be lodged with the state's environment office in Potsdam, or with the town halls in the relevant municipalities, up to Thursday.
Tesla plans to build up to 500,000 vehicles a year at the plant in Gruenheide, to the east of Berlin, from next year.
Earlier this month, environmental activists sought to fight a court ruling allowing the company to resume clearing woodland for its plant after a regional court threw out urgent applications for advance clearance of some 90 hectares of woodland to be halted.
Local and federal politicians have welcomed Tesla to the region. Federal Economy Minister Peter Altmaier welcomed the court ruling in the company's favour, calling it a "good sign for environmental protection, for jobs and for the technology of the future."
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