The US pharmaceutical giant Wyeth said it will invest $280 million to build a state-of-the-art nutritional manufacturing facility in Suzhou Industrial Park, Jiangsu Province, China. The new facility will primarily produce infant formula milk powder and other nutritional products. When completed, the site will be one of the largest nutritional manufacturing facilities in the world.

"This investment reflects Wyeth's long-term commitment to paediatric nutrition, as well as the recognition that China is now the fastest-growing market for Wyeth's worldwide nutritional business. When completed, this facility will enable us to meet the growing demand for nutritional products in the Chinese market," said Robert Essner, Wyeth's chairman of the Board. "A key element of our company's mission is ensuring that infants and children have access to the best and highest-quality products. This site will help us achieve this objective."

The new facility will become part of Wyeth's global nutritional manufacturing and supply network and will feature state-of-the-art technology for manufacturing milk powder for infants and young children.

Construction at the site started this month, and the plant is scheduled to be operational by late 2010. At full operation, the plant is expected to employ about 500 employees. Products made at this facility will primarily supply the local market.