diff --git a/cmake/link_vt.cmake b/cmake/link_vt.cmake
index 6db03d74ed..e9a5c9c1e7 100644
--- a/cmake/link_vt.cmake
+++ b/cmake/link_vt.cmake
@@ -165,9 +165,6 @@ function(link_target_with_vt)
     target_link_libraries(
       ${ARG_TARGET} PUBLIC ${ARG_BUILD_TYPE} ${ZLIB_LIBRARIES}
     )
-    target_include_directories(
-      ${ARG_TARGET} PUBLIC $<BUILD_INTERFACE:${ZLIB_INCLUDE_DIRS}>
-    )
   endif()
 
   if (NOT DEFINED ARG_LINK_FMT AND ${ARG_DEFAULT_LINK_SET} OR ARG_LINK_FMT)