The European Commission has authorized the state support amounting to 143 million euro that Romanian authorities want to provide to Ford in order to start car and engine production in the newly acquired factory in Craiova, South Romania. The two Ford projects there involve investments of 600 million euro, the EC mentions.
The Commission found the state support was compatible with the provisions on EU regulations on regional support for the period of 2007-2013 especially when it comes to large-scale projects. The two Ford projects are expected to have an important contribution to the direct and indirect growth of employment by also stimulating investments by providers and high-tech transfers with a positive effect on regional development.
The Ford projects aim at expanding, modernizing and upgrading two existing factories acquired by Ford for car and engine production respectively. In the first five years, the new Ford-manufactured engines from Craiova are due to be used within the Ford group almost exclusively. The total costs involved amount to 435 million euro for the car-making factory and 165 million for the engine-making factory.
