German weekly news magazine Focus reports today that the money will go into a foundation called Growth for Bochum, to support small start-up firms in a mobile phone and IT technology park due to be opened on the former Nokia site.
In return, the magazine reports, the North Rhine-Westphalia state government has dropped its demands that Nokia repay the €61 million subsidy it received to move there in the first place.
Nokia’s announcement early this January that it was to close the Bochum factory to move production to Romania provoked huge protests across Germany.
The North Rhine-Westphalia government says it has still not made a final decision of whether to sue Nokia over disagreements concerning conditions of the subsidy payment.