On Wednesday, the Romanian government approved the payment of the EUR 99.55 million state aid requested by the tire manufacturer Nokian Tires for its EUR 626.42 million green field investment in Nagyvárda.
The state aid, which will be paid in installments over the next six years, can be received by the Finnish company that closed its factory in Russia due to the war in Ukraine and moved part of its production there to Romania, if it is also approved by the European Commission.
According to the reasoning of the government in Bucharest, Nokian provided an average salary of 2,070 euros per month for its employees in Nagyvárad, which exceeds the Romanian gross average salary of 1,299 euros. With its investment, it will create 542 jobs, thereby contributing to the reduction of unemployment in Bihar County, and in the next decade, the social security contributions paid as a result of the new jobs will reach 52.63 million euros, and its indirect contribution to the development of the region's economy is estimated at 142 million euros.
Construction will begin in early 2023, and production will begin in the second half of 2024. The Nagyvárad plant will produce 6 million tires per year, primarily for passenger cars and SUVs. According to the company, which also has plants in Finland and the United States of America, the one in Nagyvára will be their first carbon-neutral plant. Until now, 80 percent of their passenger car tires (17 million units per year) were produced in Russia, while Russia and Asia accounted for 20 percent of their sales market.
(Source: autokalauz.co.hu; MTI | Image: pixabay.com)