Nokia authorized to start construction works on its first factory in Romania

The construction works will start this month and Nokia estimates the production will start in the first half of 2008. Nokia said it will employ 500 people at the plant.

The Finnish company said it decided to open the new plant on rising demand for Nokia products worldwide after the company sold 350 million phones in 2006, up 30 percent from the previous year. “We estimate 10 percent higher demand this year, which leads to our need to expand operations,” Nokia vice president Raimo Puntala said in late February.

The Cluj-Napoca airport will be upgraded to allow the company to import materials and export products, Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu said last month. Nokia will also open a research center in Cluj with total investments in Romania being estimated at 200 million euros and as many as 15,000 jobs being created.