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Former airfield near Plzen among potential sites for VW battery plant

Line, East Bohemia, April 6 (CTK) - The former army airfield in Line near Plzen is one of three sites in Europe being considered by German automotive group Volkswagen (VW) for the construction of a factory producing electric car batteries, Plzen Region representatives told CTK.

According to deputy regional governor Josef Bernard, the plant would cost EUR4-5bn (about Kc98-122bn) and would employ up to 4,000 people.

A team of VW designers held talks with Plzen representatives last Thursday and they plan to present the project in the next few days, regional governor Rudolf Spotak said.

Discussion on basic parameters, such as the structure of employees and infrastructure, will be held during the spring, he added.

"It could be high-tech production, one of the most state-of-art factories in Central Europe," Spotak said.

The Plzen region's zoning plan classifies the 340-hectare airport as a strategic development zone.

"It is a strategic investment within the whole of Europe," Bernard said, adding that VW was considering one locality in Czechia and another two elsewhere in Europe.

The Volkswagen group, which includes Czech carmaker Skoda Auto, plans to build several battery plants in Europe by the end of the decade. In late March it said it would build one in Valencia, Spain.

Skoda Auto's outgoing board chairman Thomas Schafer said in an interview with German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) in March that he wanted the parent group VW to select Czechia.

"We wish that Czechia would win and become the next place for the Volkswagen group's battery factory," he said.

Schafer took over the position of chief operating officer of the VW brand on April 1.