GREENVILLE, S.C. - While South Carolina was unable last year to lure a $900 million Boeing assembly plant, Charleston apparently is still in the running for 600 jobs in a $300 million complex planned by a major Boeing supplier.

Vought Aircraft Industries Inc. of Dallas is looking for a location for a planned two-plant complex to make fuselage sections for Boeing's new 7E7 Dreamliner.

The Birmingham (Ala.) News reported last week that Vought is looking at Charleston and Mobile, Ala., and has apparently ruled out Kinston, N.C.

All three cities were finalists last year for the main Boeing plant that the company plans to build in Everett, Wash., employing 1,200 workers. In all, sites in 20 states competed for that plant.

"I can verify that what's already been printed is correct," Ed McCallum of Greenville-based McCallum Sweeney Consulting, which is working with Vought on the fuselage plant.

The consulting firm also worked with Boeing in selecting the site for its plant.

McCallum told The Greenville News last week he's unsure when Vought will make a decision but said he hopes it could be within a month. He refused to comment further.

Boeing had earlier considered a tract next to the Charleston International Airport for its assembly plant, Commerce Secretary Bob Faith said in December. The manufacturer "very strongly considered" the site, Faith said at the time.

Commerce officials refused to comment on the latest reports, as did Vought spokeswoman Lynne Warne.

"We have not made any decisions, and we're not commenting on the list of location candidates," she said.

The planned Dreamliner is designed to compete with Airbus' A300 and A310 and to replace Boeing's older 757 and 767. It eventually will come in three models and be able to fly 200 to 250 people up to 8,300 miles nonstop.

To lure the main Boeing plant, Washington officials agreed to grant tax breaks totaling $400 million through 2009 - and potentially worth $3.2 billion over 20 years - if Boeing chose that state.

---

Information from: The Greenville News