A crane lifted a prebuilt wall, put it in place and fastened it to the frame of the $1 billion Volkswagen manufacturing plant’s paint shop here today as a crowd watched and cheered.

“Twenty years ago a wall came down in my country,” said Klaus Scharioth, German ambassador to the United States. “Today I helped put up a wall, so that’s new to me.”

Volkswagen officials also said this afternoon that construction of the company’s $1 billion manufacturing plant at the Enterprise South industrial park is ahead of schedule.

“This has a lot to do with the big support of the city and county here,” said Dr. Jochem Heizmann, a member of the board of management of Volkswagen AG. “I’m convinced we will be very successful here in Chattanooga.”

His comments came at a news conference before the ceremonial wall raising.

Dr. Heizmann also said he welcomed the ongoing merger of VW and Porsche.

“We will now have everything it takes to be a champion ... without comparison,” he said.

For complete details, see tomorrow’s Chattanooga Times Free Press.