By DANIEL RIORDAN
The Government has entered a transtasman race to encourage American technology company Motorola to set up a big research plant here.
At stake are 150 jobs that would be provided initially at a new software research facility the Chicago-based company is looking to establish in Australia or New Zealand.
Christchurch City Council is the New Zealand frontrunner and expects to hear soon if Government assurances of assistance will be enough to entice Motorola.
More jobs could be created over time and the boost to the local economy would be measured in tens of millions of dollars.
Canterbury Employers Chamber of Commerce chief executive Peter Townsend believes a decision is imminent, but says he is unsure how Christchurch rates against alternative sites.
The head of the council's strategy and resources committee, David Close, said it was waiting to hear from Motorola.
The Government was supporting the bid and had given the council an assurance of its backing, said Mr Close. While he would not disclose the nature of that assistance, he understood it was likely to come from the research, science and technology vote of minister Pete Hodgson.
The minister had earlier hinted any Government help would be through Trade New Zealand's long-standing strategic investment project.
Negotiations had been taking place for several months, but a week ago Motorola came back to Christchurch with additional questions centred mainly on accommodation issues, said Mr Close.
The council had been able to offer some "modest incentives," the biggest a guarantee of a long-term lease at a reasonable rate on the former Southpower building in the central city.
Christchurch faces stiff competition from Australian cities which can call on federal Government tax incentives as well as a raft of state government business incentives.
But Mr Close was hopeful Christchurch would still win the day.
"We have two universities, a major polytechnic and some significant high-tech industries, with synergies available."
Russell Grimmer, corporate communications manager with Motorola's Pacific division, would not say where Christchurch ranked, but said discussions were continuing with cities in Australia and New Zealand.
He declined to comment on earlier unsourced media reports that Motorola wanted $3 million in Government grants before it would set up in Christchurch.
The main criteria in deciding where Motorola went were not financial, but depended rather on the availability of skilled graduates and the opportunities offered by universities for collaborative programmes.
Mr Grimmer cited Motorola's operations in Adelaide, which take advantage of that city's three universities. Motorola supplies guest lecturers, students work part-time for Motorola, and some courses are tailored to Motorola's needs.
Beehive input crucial for Motorola plan
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