Published: Wednesday, 31st December, 2008 8:10am

Barack Obama hope for mothballed Dunfermline plant

A NEW man in the White House could boost hopes of seeing a new firm 'zoom' in to take over Dunfermline"s white elephant Hyundai factory, it"s been claimed.

The Press reported in July that American firm Zoom Diversified had been in talks over a move to the never-used building.

But there have been no signs on the site that there has been tangible progress in the talks, though claims that the move may have fallen victim of the credit crunch have been dismissed.

Now, with reports that negotiations are continuing, Rosyth councillor Douglas Chapman says he believes Barack Obama"s recent election success could be good news for the mothballed plant.

He explained, 'President elect Obama has outlined his commitment to the environment and may be poised to offer incentives to those in the US who wish to cut their carbon dioxide emissions through the installation of solar panels.'

Councillor Chapman, the SNP"s depute leader, pointed out that Zoom wanted to use the Hyundai factory to manufacture solar panels.

'If these panels can be manufactured in Dunfermline and then exported to the US to satisfy a growing market, then there may be no better time for Zoom to begin production in Fife,' he said.

The Hyundai factory was built in the late 1990s with the promise of up to 2000 jobs but the project collapsed and the factory was subsequently taken over by Motorola.

However, its plans for the building were also abandoned.

Current owners Freescale are understood to be in talks with Zoom but it"s believed the deal could hinge on the company receiving up to £20 million in regional assistance grant funding from the Scottish Government.

Mr Chapman continued, 'The building has been a giant blot on the Dunfermline landscape for too long and if Zoom along with Fife Council and the Scottish Government can work together to start manufacturing then that will be a big boost for the Fife economy in these difficult times.'

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