West Point —- Troup County is becoming Kia Country.

A new I-85 exit will connect to Kia Boulevard when completed this fall.

The Kia logo will be emblazoned on a nearby water tower, and searchlights will illuminate the letters for passing motorists.

Even the culinary landscape is changing as Asian restaurants open, drawn by Kia employees relocated from South Korea.

All that's needed is the Kia plant itself.

More than 700 construction workers are toiling under the hot summer sun as the West Point manufacturing facility moves toward completion.

Steel skeletons for all five buildings have been erected, and elevated conveyor belts and electrical conduits are being extended to connect the structures.

If all goes as planned, the first vehicle —- a 2010 Sorento SUV —- will roll off the assembly line in November 2009.

The $1.2 billion Kia plant, the South Korean car manufacturer's first in the United States, is expected to employ at least 2,500 workers.

Randy Jackson, Kia Georgia's director for human resources and administration, said the company's suppliers are expected to add another 6,000 jobs to the area.

It's a part of the state that could use the jobs. The textile industry has filtered out of Troup County for decades, and initial jobless claims spiked 35.1 percent in June over the previous year.

Residents from all over the region leapt at the opportunity to work at the plant, and more than 43,000 people applied to the 2,500 Kia jobs earlier this year. Assistant Manager of Public Relations Joanne Mabrey said the company will fill about 700 of those jobs by the end of the year.

Georgia lured Kia to West Point, a town of less than 4,000 near the Alabama border, with an extensive marketing campaign and a hefty incentives package.

The incentives, which include agreements at state and local levels, are valued at more than $400 million, or about $160,000 per job.

Gov. Sonny Perdue signed the agreement with Kia in Seoul, South Korea, in March 2006.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held in October that year, and Perdue called the plant "the largest single economic development announcement in the history of our state."

Analysts had raised doubts that Kia would make its November 2009 deadline in West Point, citing trouble securing financing and a corruption investigation involving the chairman of Hyundai Motor, Kia's parent company. But company officials say construction is on schedule, with testing to begin next spring.

Media representatives were given a tour of the work site Thursday.

Once the project is complete, three satellite buildings will feed parts into the 750,000-square-foot assembly plant.

Each car will be test driven at a track before being cleared for sale. Kia plans to produce 300,000 vehicles a year.

Jackson said the company expects steady demand for the midsize Sorento as consumers swap large SUVs for smaller models.

Although the plant is expected to produce two types of car, he said a second model in addition to the Sorento has not been determined.

A vice chairman at Hyundai was quoted by Reuters in May saying that the plant might produce small sedans.

KIA INCENTIVES

State and local governments and utility providers all pitched in for incentives estimated at $414.6 million, about $160,000 per job. Kia is contractually obligated to provide at least 2,500 jobs at its West Point plant.

> $65.6 million in job tax credits over five years

> $13.9 million in sales tax exemptions

> $130 million in property tax abatements over 16 years

> $20 million in training facilities and programs

> $21 million for local infrastructure improvements

> $34.6 million for 2,245 acres of land

> $48.5 million for clearing 650 acres for construction

> $81 million in road improvements

Sources: Georgia Department of Economic Development, Kia Motors