July 13, 2001 — ESSEX, England — Vehicle manufacturer Ford is ready to invest more than $490 million ($350 million pounds) to build a new state-of-the-art engine plant at its Dagenham site.

The company previously announced plans to build a 323,000 square foot (30,000 square meter) cleanroom at the Dagenham site.

The company said this week that by 2004, one in four of the 8 million vehicles Ford sells every year will contain an engine that was built in either Dagenham or from Ford’s plant in Bridgend, South Wales.

The creation of the factory is expected to create 500 new jobs, although the company has already cut 1,350 jobs from the location and expect to cut an additional 1,300 next year when production on the Ford Festiva ceases. The plant will employ around 5,000 and will reportedly remain London’s largest industrial center.

Officials say the factory will be one of the most advanced manufacturing facilities in England, and is the first new major building at the Dagenham site in more than 30 years.

$840 million