Details of New €50m Investment for Printing Plant at Citywest, Dublin, Ireland

Commenting on the Company's new facility, Mr. Gavin O'Reilly, Managing Director, IN(I)L said: "Citywest, designed to meet Independent Newspapers' production requirements for the next 30 years, will be the finest newspaper production facility in the world.

"In co-operation with our staff and unions, we aim to establish new staffing levels and working practices that will withstand all forms of new competition, including competition from an increasingly audio-visual and Internet world.

Commenting on the Company's broader plans, Mr. O'Reilly said "What we are unveiling today is more than a new print plant, it is a philosophy which will allow us the freedom to compete in an increasingly competitive environment. It is about equipping our Company to compete on a level playing pitch, for the benefit of our brands, our employees and our collective future.

Paying tribute to the specialist four-man team working on the project, comprising: David Palmer, Chairman, IN(I)L; Jack Gilroy, Director Special Projects; Andrew Donagher, Group Financial Controller - Ireland; and Barry Gilbert (former Production Director, Financial Times, London), Mr. O'Reilly said: "The team has undertaken a thorough investigation of all production operations and equipment options world-wide, which will result in a new state-of-the-art printing plant on a green-field site, equipped with the very latest technology which will radically transform the newspaper industry here.

THE PRESSHALL: Designed by architects Robinson Keefe Devane, the landmark design press hall will be an impressive 200 feet long and 57 feet in height. It will be entirely surrounded by glass, showcasing the dark blue presses within as a piece of industrial architecture. A white aerofoil-shaped roof 'floats' over the presshall, behind which, a three storey building will house the newsprint reel store, the publishing and dispatch areas, modern offices, a well equipped restaurant, changing rooms, workshops and storage.

The building's glass facade and commanding location alongside the Naas Road, will allow car passengers to watch today's news being converted into tomorrow's newspapers at a rate of 75,000 copies per hour.

THE PRESS: Independent's new GEOMAN press will consist of eight four-high colour towers, which are being constructed by MAN Roland in Germany. Capable of press speeds of 75,000 copies per hour, the press will be manufactured to Independent's exact requirements and will include 10 automatic reel stands, two folders (one of which iincludes an on-line stitcher) and the highest specification of automation.

The Abbey Street titles will be the first national newspapers to go Computer to Plate (CTP). The prepress computers in Abbey Street will digitise the pages and send these signals down an ISDN line to our CTP machines, which will convert these signals, into a lithographic printing plate in 20 seconds, capable of producing over 180 plates an hour.

PROJECT TIMELINE: The projected time-scale is that negotiations regarding staffing and terms and conditions will commence in September 1999. Management training and familiarisation will commence in January 2000 followed by training for operatives starting in April 2000. Building and press construction is already underway and is expected to be complete by June 2000. The new press, together with dispatch and mail-room systems will be delivered and installed in the period July to September 2000. Press commissioning will get underway in the months of September through November 2000 with production commencing in December 2000.

Ends

Tuesday, 31st August 1999

For Reference:

Gavin O'Reilly Managing Director Independent Newspapers (Ireland) LImited Tel: 01 705 5495

Jim Milton/Pat Walsh