BERLIN, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Germany's Minister for Economic Affairs Peter Altmaier welcomed on Friday a court decision that allows U.S. electric car company Tesla to continue land preparations for its first European vehicle and battery Gigafactory in Germany.
"This is a good signal for environment protection, jobs and future technologies," Altmaier said.
On Thursday, the Higher Administrative Court (OVG) of Berlin-Brandenburg rejected the urgent applications of two German environmental groups "against the preliminary permission of forest clearance on the future Tesla site." The court's decision is final.
Based on the court's ruling, Tesla is now allowed to clear trees on the 90-hectare site of its planned factory near Berlin.
Last November, Tesla announced plans to build a factory in Germany, which would produce Tesla's next compact crossover Model Y as well as batteries and drives near Berlin's airport.
Last week, the state office for the environment in Brandenburg had already granted general approval for Tesla to begin clearing the forest and constructing roads to the site ahead of the final approval by German authorities.
Since the Tesla plant in Germany had not yet been approved, the environmental groups filed urgent applications against the early start of construction and for a temporary stop of the clearance of the forest.
According to the court, the legal requirements for the start of construction of the plant without a final building permit had been "correctly affirmed" by the state office.
Altmaier said he hoped that the court's decision in favor of Tesla would lead to an intensified discussion about accelerated planning processes in Germany and stressed that "we only have a long-term chance with such important projects if we can reach decisions within a reasonable period of time."
