British American Tobacco (BAT) has announced that it will establish a new centre for the production of smokeless products in Pécs (southwestern Hungary), reports Hungary Today.

The company will invest around HUF 60 billion (EUR 152 million) into the centre which will create 450 new jobs, according to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó.
BAT already employs almost a thousand people in Hungary, and the new investment shows that Pécs will continue to play an extremely important role in the company’s long-term strategy. Szijjártó also said that the project would contribute to the success of two important Hungarian economic policy objectives including exports of over 80 per cent to foreign markets. Furthermore, the government is pursuing a responsible policy of increasing economic output while respecting the environment, and the Pécs tobacco factory is now carbon neutral, reports Hungary Today.
Szijjártó said that there was a serious imbalance between the economic situation in the eastern and western parts of Hungary, and that the government is working on closing this gap.
“Now it is time to concentrate our efforts on developing the southwestern part of the country. From now on, the geographical focus of investment incentives will shift to southwestern Hungary, to Southern Transdanubia,” Szijjártó said.
“This significant investment is an important step towards a smoke-free world, offering smokers better alternatives to cigarettes,” he said. “The investment further reinforces Hungary’s strategic importance in our long-term plans to have 50 percent of our revenues from new category products by 2035. Our manufacturing capabilities, highlighted by the Pécs centre, are key to achieving this goal,” said Usman Zahur, Regional Director for Central Europe at BAT.