Fiat plans $500 million for engine plant, mystery venture

Italian automotive giant Fiat has announced plans to invest at least $500 million in Poland over the next four years. The money will go into starting up a diesel engine plant, as well as into a new, as-yet secret venture. Fiat, already one of the largest foreign investors in Poland, will develop the Bielsko-Biala diesel engine facility in cooperation with General Motors, with the total value of the project estimated at euro 350-euro 400 million. Fiat Polska president Enrico Pavoni has told Puls Biznesu that the second investment will have a similar value. He declined to disclose any further details about the venture, other than stressing that it will be in one of the sectors in which the company is already operating, and that this does not mean only the automotive field, but also, for example, IT or energy. Pavoni indicated that the $500 million investment is separate from what Fiat might spend on acquiring aircraft engine producer PZL Rzeszow. Fiat Avio is currently negotiating with the Treasury the terms of a possible privatization deal. (Puls Biznesu, p. 10) T.J.