Glass and chemicals group Turkey Sise ve Cam Fabrikalari (Sisecam) will launch today the flat glass unit of its glassware factory in Targovishte, North-eastern Bulgaria.The first production unit to start operation was the $75 mln household glassware factory which was launched in July 2005.
It has eight manufacturing lines and a capacity to make 54,000 tons, i.e. 235 mln items annually. They will be marketed under the Pasabahci brand.
The tempered glass and mirror plants - with annual capacity of 2.3 mln and 2.5 mln sq m, will go into operation in the second half of the year.
The $220 mln Sisecam investment, one of the biggest greenfield projects ever implemented in Bulgaria, was launched in 2004 and should be completed by 2007.
After the flat glass and glassware units began operation, the unemployment rate in the relatively underdeveloped Targovishte region dropped from 28% to 23%.
The Bulgarian state has invested 13.5 mln levs in the infrastructure that was put in place for the Sisecam project in Targovishte.