WORK started this week on a multi- million-pound investment programme at Philips Semiconductors in Southampton, which will create more than 150 new jobs in the region.

Deputy general manager Martin Housham said the £5 million project would provide the company with the latest facilities as it continues to grow in the semiconductors market.

Around 160 new jobs are set to be -created in the next few years with -hardware and software engineers expected to be recruited from around the world.

The new building will complement existing facilities on the Millbrook site where 450 people work on the design and application of semi-conductors - the silicon chips used in everything from televisions to CD rom and DVD.

"This new building will help meet increasing international demand for semiconductors,'' said Mr Housham.

"Philips is the leading semiconductor supplier in Europe and the eighth largest in the world.'' He said that 50 per cent of televisions bought contain Philips technology and across the world Philips produces 50 million electronic devices a day.

At Southampton Mr Housham said staff were working at the forefront of new technology.

"There's a new optimism in Southampton, which is a great place to do business as well as to live, and Philips Semiconductors is a leading edge company helping to develop a strong future in high tech chips for the area.''

He said the pioneering work of more than 100 engineers in Southampton had produced some of the most -innovative technological achievements in the whole industry - including last month's launch of the Ultimate One Chip Television solution.

Mr Housham said this would enable television manufacturers to cut -production costs and get their goods to the market faster than in the past.

Construction of the new building is expected to be complete within a year and the start of building work by Osborne was marked with the burying of a time capsule including the latest semiconductors from Philips, a copy of the Southern Daily Echo, list of all -current employees and an example of pages from its website.

Converted for the new archive on 25 January 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.