Oyak-Renault, the Turkish suhsidiary of France's Renault, is seeking government approval of its plans to build a $362 million plant to produce its Megane model, State Minister Ufuk Soylemez announced on 6 August. The project represents the largest single foreign investment since the beginning of the EU customs union in January.

The government is expected to approve the application by late August. The scheme will have an annual export capacity of up to $2,000 million and provide jobs for 1,100 people. It follows two other schemes unveiled recently for the establishment of light transport vehicle plants. A consortium of South Korea's KIA Motors Corporation, Nichimen Company of Japan and the local Ihlas Holding plans to invest a total of $50 million in a plant with an eventual capacity of 35,000 vehicles a year. Suzuki of Japan is also conducting preliminary studies for the establishment of a $100 millior plant to produce an initial 10,000 small commercial vehicles a year (MEED 26:7:96