NUEVO LEON – The construction of a Tesla mega-plant in Nuevo León state will necessitate the building of approximately 13,000 homes in Santa Catarina municipality to ensure proper housing for its employees, according to Eugenio Montiel, the director of the state’s Housing Institute (IVNL).

Montiel emphasized that because Santa Catarina is located near the municipalities of Saltillo, Ramos Arizpe, and Arteaga in the neighboring state of Coahuila, it is expected that some of the electric car maker’s staff will come from that region.

Montiel said, “Currently the state is receiving a significant flow of both Mexican and foreign migration, just from 2010 to 2020, Santa Catarina experienced a population growth rate of 13.9% and almost a quarter of this growth are young people, who will demand housing to avoid relocations,”

Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, confirmed two weeks ago during Investor Day 2023, held in Austin, Texas (USA), the construction of a plant in Mexico, in the northern state of Nuevo Leon. According to Samuel García, the state governor, the mega-plant will produce between 35,000 and 40,000 direct and indirect jobs.

Given the potential for job creation, Montiel believes that “it is highly probable that all housing segments in Santa Catarina and surrounding municipalities will experience an upswing to a greater or lesser extent.” He added that to meet the demand for housing, public agencies will play a crucial role, as will real estate developers and banks.

Montiel also stated that, due to existing roads and travel times, the increased demand for housing in Santa Catarina and other municipalities, such as Garcia, General Escobedo, Monterrey, and San Nicolas, is expected to experience growth.

There is presently no set date for the start of operations at the Nuevo Leon assembly plant, but it may be by the end of 2023 or the beginning of 2024. The plant will be Tesla’s first automotive production facility in Latin America and the fifth in the world, following those already in operation in Fremont and Austin (United States), Shanghai (China), and Berlin (Germany).