The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, the chief executive of Siemens, Andreas J. Goss and the Mayor of Newham Borough Council, Sir Robin Wales, have announced a plan for Siemens to invest £30 million in a new landmark building in East London, comprising an exhibition and conference centre.

This is set to be built and operational by early 2012 and is the flagship project of a new Green Enterprise District, also announced by the Mayor.

The Mayor revealed that the Green Enterprise District will stretch across East London, exploiting the potential from undeveloped plots of industrial land to attract new investment, create up to 6000 new jobs and develop new low carbon skills. The Green Enterprise District is designed to position London as a global leader of the low carbon economy. The Siemens Pavilion will be built on land owned by the London Development Agency and Newham Borough Council, helping to further regenerate one of the most deprived parts of the capital.

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Siemens plans to create an iconic building to be a permanent showcase for sustainable technologies and a destination for the public, customers and students to meet and explore the innovation required to achieve a low carbon society. The centre expects to attract around 100,000 visitors a year. School groups from across London are also expected to use the facility for educational trips. It will be located at the western end of the Royal Docks near to the ExCeL centre and London City airport. When complete, the building will be a base for around 230 Siemens employees as well as providing the potential for around 50 new local jobs directly and in the supply chain.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, used the announcement to underpin a speech at the BASE London conference, outlining a range of measures to secure London's pre-eminence as a global leader of the low carbon economy. He said: "A century ago, we were cashing in on carbon, yet now there are clear economic opportunities coming from getting rid of it. I want London to be ahead of the queue, grasping a significant share of the jobs and economic booty arising from this new generation of low carbon goods and services.

"It is a clear sign of the confidence in London’s ability to nurture and support eco-enterprises that Siemens has chosen to locate its flagship centre of sustainability here in the UK capital. The Siemens Pavilion is set to sit at the heart of a brand new Green Enterprise District, which will sweep across east of the city. We envisage that the District will be a vibrant, international hub incubating dozens of low carbon businesses to transform what has historically been some of the poorest parts of the capital."

(CD/GK)