Chief executive Tim Bowdler (pictured) said that a site had been chosen "in a good location from both the point of view of serving the city for the daily and also the motorway network."

Bowdler said that there was still no decision on which presses will go into the new plant, but that he was "talking to the three major press manufacturers."

Bowdler added that the project was intended to replace the old York Street plant, which prints the Sheffield Telegraph and the Sheffield Journal, rather than to fulfil contracts for other publishers.

"The [York Street] plant is ageing, it's in a very poor location, we can't develop it and it cannot provide the colour need of the evening newspaper," he said.

The news on the Sheffield plant, which was first revealed last September, came as Johnston Press announced 9% year-on-year increase in pre-tax profit for the first half-year to 91.1m, with turnover up 5% at 261.2m. The company put the increases down to improved advertising revenue.

The company does not issue figures for its printing division, but Bowdler said that its profitability had also improved.

"In the first half of 2003 we were still going through a process of commissioning and running new presses in Portsmouth and Sunderland, and they're now well settled down and running very efficiently, which has helped the division's performance" he said.

Story by Josh Brooks