US-based pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly is considering a single-digit billion-dollar investment to construct a production plant in West Germany, reported Reuters.

Sources close to the matter told the news agency that the investment could be approximately $2.17bn and would be fully funded by the company.

The plant is expected to be situated in the town of Alzey in the Rheinhessen area, within the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

This new location is said to be Lilly’s first large-scale production complex in Germany.

According to the news agency, more than 1,000 new jobs are expected to be created. It is expected to benefit the region’s subcontractors and suppliers.

One of the sources said to the news agency: “This is about a four-digit number of new employees.”

Further details about what will be manufactured at the facility and the size of it were not disclosed, although one source said that diabetes drugs would be manufactured at the plant.

According to its 2022 annual report, Lilly owns production and distribution sites in seven countries outside the US, with major facilities in China, France, Italy, Spain, and the Republic of Ireland.

In the US, including Puerto Rico, the company owns major production sites in Indianapolis, Indiana; Carolina, Puerto Rico; and Branchburg, New Jersey.

The German project is expected to be in addition to the more than $8bn in existing growth expenditures the company has planned for Indiana, North Carolina, and Limerick, Republic of Ireland, over the coming years.