Industry Minister to ask the Cabinet to earmark an additional 1.5 bn crowns towards Hyundai car plant project

Industry Minister Milan Urban is to ask the Cabinet for an additional 1.5 billion crowns to be set aside for the repair and construction of industrial zones and infrastructure near Ostrava, the proposed site of a new 1.2 billion dollar Hyundai car plant. The Cabinet has already earmarked 3.25 billion crowns in relation to the proposed venture of the South Korean carmaker. Hyundai reportedly wants a four-lane highway built from Ostrava to neighbouring Slovakia, where its affiliate Kia Motors has a factory. The South Korean investment has become a focal point for political debate over the Czech Republic's system of incentives for attracting foreign investment, with the main opposition Civic Democratic Party calling for a major reduction in incentives packages.