OVER 2,000 new jobs are to be announced in six to seven major new industrial projects over the coming weeks. Cork, Dublin and Limerick are to be the major beneficiaries of the new projects, the bulk of which are in the fast-growing electronics sector.

IDA Ireland has said that it hopes to announce the creation of more than 1,000 new jobs in the greater Cork area over the next few weeks. And sources say that the same number of jobs are likely to be involved in a number of projects to be announced for Dublin and Limerick in the near future.

Details of three multinational companies which want to locate in Cork and which are each expected to employ 300 to 400 people should be announced by Enterprise and Employment Minister, Mr Bruton, before Christmas. Another two projects for the Cork area are still in negotiation but IDA Ireland is optimistic these will conclude successfully.

The comments from IDA Ireland in Cork came as Pharmacia and Upjohn, one of the world's top ten listed companies, has turned the sod for a £45 million extension of its Cork plant yesterday.

The plant manufacturers a range of anti-cancer drugs and when the extension is completed next year employment will increase from 70 to 220 people. It took over the Gaeleo plant in Little Island, Co Cork some years ago and has now developed it as one of it's three centres.

The new industries being attracted by IDA Ireland for Cork will be in the electronics, health care and telecommunications areas, all sectors where Cork already has an established base. "The success of the plants already located here is proving very helpful," said the IDA area director, Mr Barry Condron, yesterday.

Sources said that a number of major projects are also expected to be announced for the east and mid-west over the coming weeks. Most of these are expected to be in the electronics sector.

So far this year about 12,500 jobs have been announced in some 70 industrial projects. Around 9,000 of these jobs are in the electronics sector, with 7,500 in projects involving more than 150jobs.

Last week in two major project announcements Mr Bruton unveiled a £20 million expansion by Dell in Limerick, involving 500 new permanent jobs and 250 contracts positions, while the US company DSC Computers is to provide 475 jobs in Drogheda in a greenfield investment.