UPDATE: Leaders gather in North Charleston for Boeing groundbreaking

State and local leaders gathered in North Charleston on Friday to break ground for the new $750 million Boeing aircraft assembly plant, the largest industrial investment in state history.

The plant will assemble the 787 Dreamliner which has already accumulated 840 orders from 55 airlines, a more than $140 billion backlog.

The new plant is expected to create 3,800 jobs within seven years and construction will mean another 2,000 jobs.

“This groundbreaking sets into motion what we believe will be revolutionary and indeed generational changes to our state’s economy,“ said Gov. Mark Sanford. “Not only for the thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions in investment - in fact, the largest announcement in South Carolina history - but also for the way Boeing’s expansion will spur on an already growing aerospace hub in our state, this is extremely good news.“

Boeing received an incentive package including up to $170 million in low-interest construction loans, plus sales tax exemptions for computers, material and fuel used in test flights.