Panasonic in 2022 chose De Soto, Kansas, as the site of its new $4 billion electric vehicle battery plant. The facility will bring 4,000 jobs to the region. As they prepare for a spring 2025 opening, the city, county and state are working on multiple infrastructure projects to accommodate an influx of workers and residents.
City Administrator Mike Brungardt told KCUR's Up To Date that water and sewage treatment, miles of roads and a new fire station are in the works, among other projects.
"The city is not alone in doing this. We have partners with Johnson County who are busy and hard at work, implementing the fire station project," Brungardt said. We've got state agencies, the Kansas Department of Transportation doing the road projects. And the Department of Health and Environment has been a valuable resource in implementing the water treatment and wastewater treatment projects."
