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Auto parts maker TRW Automotive Holding Corp has picked Slovakia as the site for a greenfield investment worth around $51 million, HANT BA, an intermediary in the deal said on Monday.
TRW, which makes safety equipment such as airbags, is expected to produce parts for South Korean Kia Motors, France's PSA Peugeot Citroen and Germany's BMW at its new plant in the Slovak city of Bytca.
"Total investment in three phases is around 1.5 billion crowns ($51.07 million), production engineering included," HANT BA's business director Jaroslav Tecker told Reuters.
TRW could not be immediately reached for comment. HANT BA, a real estate agency which provides complex construction and technological support for businesses, said it had been engaged by TRW to find a suitable site for a new plant in Slovakia.
The factory's first phase, worth around 500 million crowns, is expected to start production in the first half of 2007 and employ up to 300 workers. Full capacity at the plant is expected to provide jobs for around 700 employees.
Kia is building a 1 billion euro ($1.28 billion) factory in the northern Slovak city of Zilina, just 20 km west of Bytca, and is expected to launch commercial production later in December, with full capacity of 300,000 units expected in 2009.
PSA, which operates a 700 million euro plant in the city of Trnava, launched commercial production in June and expects 2006 capacity of 60,000 units. The plant will have production capacity of 300,000 cars a year in 2008.
"It's big and a very important investment for the city and region," Bytca mayor Peter Korec told Reuters.
The unemployment rate stood at 9.14 percent in Bytca in August and Slovakia's jobless rate in August hit and all-time record low of 9.85 percent in August.
The car industry has become the backbone of the EU-newcomer's economy, which grew by 6.7 percent year-on-year in the second quarter with rising car production helping to drive exports.
Slovakia is set to become the world's top car maker per capita in the coming three years, with an annual output of around 1 million cars, including Volkswagen's Slovak unit in Bratislava.
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