Czech region runs into snag over Hyundai plant site

The Czech region of Moravia-Silesia said on Monday it would halt preparations at the Nosovice industrial zone to house a new Hyundai car plant if it is unable to buy the required land by the end of the week. A news release said that the region had exhausted all the legal possibilities at its disposition to buy the land to which five percent of the owners remained against. The region said that instead it will deploy its efforts to attract Hyundai to build its first European car plant at a second site at Mosnov, in the east of the Czech Republic, if the situation did not change.

Until now Nosovice has appeared to be the preferred location for the 1.24 billion US dollar deal for the South Korean car plant, which the Czech Republic hopes to sign over neighbouring Poland.

Hyundai's decision on the location of the plant is expected by the end of 2005.