THE REGIONAL government of Banská Bystrica will receive a Sk93 million (€2.4 million) grant from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to build an innovation-development centre for the machine and wood-processing industries.
Expected to cost approximately Sk98 million (€2.5 million), the centre will be built at a research and development (R&D) facility in Zvolen and overseen by the local Technical University, a spokesman for the regional government told the TASR news agency.
"The project is due to begin in 2005 and be completed in early 2007. The centre will employ some 40 highly skilled professionals," he said, adding that the centre is designed to boost the competitiveness of small- and medium-sized businesses in the region through innovation and development.
The project should also lay the groundwork for cooperation between universities, R&D institutions, other innovation-development concerns and the business sector.
