Volvo plant in Košice. (source: TASR)
A €1.2-billion investment by Chinese-owned Swedish car manufacturer Volvo Cars in eastern Slovakia is expected to create thousands of new jobs, boost regional development, and contribute to more ecological transport in Slovakia and elsewhere, among other benefits.
The company is building its third European factory in the Valaliky industrial park near Košice, where it will produce all-electric vehicles. Both Slovakia and Sweden consider the investment a priority.
“The Volvo investment will contribute to the creation of thousands of jobs, to regional development, and to ecological transport,” said Marek Eštok, state secretary (i.e. deputy minister) of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, on a visit to Košice for celebrations to mark Europe Day on May 9. He was accompanied by Christian Danielsson, state secretary of the Swedish Ministry of European Union Affairs.
The Slovak government is providing a direct financial incentive of €267 million to support construction of the plant.
Giving the green light to the stimulus, the European Commission said in early April the investment “will contribute to the EU’s strategic objectives relating to job creation, regional development and the European Green Deal”.
