Having obtained the permit just before the end of 2018, Magna planned to launch the trial production at the Hoče paint shop, a EUR 160m investment in the north-east, in early March.

However, environmental NGO Rovo appealed against the permit, which was issued by the Slovenian Environment Agency, arguing Magna's plant is located in a water-sensitive area.

Although its appeal was rejected by the Environment Ministry in early February, the parties had 30 days to appeal against the ministry's decision.

Although Rovo first said it would challenge the ministry's decision in court, its representative Gorazd Marinček recently changed his mind after meeting the economic and environment ministers.

Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek reassured him the government would change the special law on Manga to allow the company to build in a water protection area.

This means the amended Lex Magna would in effect bypass provisions from the waters act.

However, the government rejected such a proposal on 21 February, arguing it would only make sense to address such an issue in a more systemic way.

Magna said today the around 200 employees it had already hired and who were testing the equipment and continuing training in Hoče would be able to actually start working tomorrow.

When problems with the appeals against the environmental permit had surfaced, Magna had temporarily moved the manufacturing of products planned for Hoče to nearby Graz, Austria.