Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei Technologies Co Ltd [HWT.UL] is expected to receive planning permission this week to build a £400 million ($494.24-million) research and development center in Britain's Sawston village, seven miles off Cambridge, the Sunday Times newspaper reported.
The facility, 7 miles (11 km) from Cambridge, will be built for researching and developing chips for use in broadband, according to the report.
The South Cambridgeshire District Council has been advised to approve the company's application in full, the newspaper reported.
Research Center
The R&D center will conduct research in many fields including photonics and data communications. Huawei paid $46.3 million for the 550-acre plot in 2018. When the telecom giant's involvement in the country's 5G network rollout led to uproar even after the agreement in January, the government has taken a fresh review of Huawei's equipment for a review.
Several concerns have been raised over Huawei's close ties to the Chinese government and some Tory MPs claimed that Huawei's equipment could be used to spy on people and governments of the West. But Huawei has been repeatedly denying such allegations.
The Times quotes former first secretary Damian Green, who said, "Announcements like this R&D center are clearly designed to influence the debate and they shouldn't be allowed to influence it."
However, Huawei said, "We are investing in new technology, and an important part of our commitment to the UK is our proposed new R&D center in Cambridge."
