South Korea's Nexen builds EUR 810m tyre plant near Prague

(PRAGUE) - South Korean tyre maker Nexen Tire said Thursday it had begun building a 810-million-euro ($903-million) plant in the Czech Republic to serve automakers with assembly lines in the central European country.

The factory will open in 2018 and produce 31,200 tyres a day for the Hyundai and Skoda Auto (Volkswagen) car plants based in the Czech Republic and Kia Motors in neighbouring Slovakia.

The plant is the third largest investment in Czech history and will be located 80 kilometres (50 miles) northwest of Prague at a former military airport.

It will create more than 1,000 jobs in a region grappling with unemployment higher than the national average, Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said.

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Nexen Tire

Hyundai

Skoda