ZURICH: Swiss food giant Nestle said Monday it was opening a new production site in war-torn Ukraine, and would invest tens of millions in a factory and production network set to employ 1,500 people.

“Nestle is announcing the opening a new production site in Ukraine,” the company, which had three facilities in Ukraine before the war broke out, said in a statement.

It said that “40 million Swiss francs ($43 million) will be invested in production in Smolyhiv located in Volyn region, in the western part of the country.”

The aim was to increase “the capacity of noodles culinary production in Ukraine”, the company said, adding that it also wanted to help support growth of the Ukrainian economy, which has been ravaged since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February. “I am proud to confirm our commitment to invest in Ukraine,” Alessandro Zanelli, head of Nestle’s South Eastern Europe Market division, said in the statement.