September 28 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria-based manufacturer of power supply systems IPS has started the construction of a 32 million levs ($19.2 million/16.3 million euro) manufacturing plant in the city of Kardzhali, the local government said.
The plant will produce systems and components for electricity generation and energy storage, the municipal government said in a statement on Wednesday.
The first stage of the plant will be built in seven months, and will be operational in the summer of 2018, while the second stage is scheduled for completion in 2019.
The total number of new job openings could reach 600 after the project is completed.
In March the company told SeeNews that the systems manufactured at the plant will be used for production of electricity from renewable sources.
IPS is 63%-owned by Sofia-based Power Technology Investment Group, according to the Bulgarian Commercial Registry.
In 2015, Bulgarian investment fund BlackPeak Capital said that together with PostScriptum Ventures, a venture capital group, it acquired a minority stake in International Power Supply (IPS) to support the company’s global expansion.
BlackPeak Capital and PostScriptum Ventures hold among themselves a 27% stake in the company, while Greece-registered Metka Industrial-Construction owns the remaining 10%.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)