A new £80m newspaper printing press is to be built on a brownfield site in Didcot, generating jobs in the area.

The new press, which will be operated by Associated Newspapers, part of the Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT), will be built on a 12-acre site at Old Milton Road near Didcot Power Station.

Set to be operational by 2008 the new facility will allow the paper to print the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday in full colour.

The print plant is expected to create a number of jobs and DMGT has confirmed it will be recruiting locally.

The company said the Didcot site was chosen because of its excellent transport links to the rest of the UK.

Toby Warren, head of innovation and enterprise at the Vale of White Horse District Council, said the new plant was a welcome investment in the area.

"We do have a dynamic and successful economy in the area but things change rapidly and we do need new investment and new jobs," he said.

"Certainly printing and publishing is one of the areas where we are experiencing growth."

Lord Rothermere, chairman of Associated Newspapers, said the new press would provide more value to readers and advertisers. He added: "This is further evidence of our commitment to the long term future of our newspapers."

Peter Williams, finance director of DMGT, said: "Our London press at Harmsworth Quays, the world's biggest Flexo print plant, currently produces about half Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday pages in colour. We want to produce all pages in colour and need another plant."

The new operation will take up most of the company's £100m investment programme.

Mr Williams would not be drawn on the number of new jobs. He said: "Clearly there will be new jobs but its too early to say how many."

Some staff will move from London to Didcot, but the rest will be recruited in the area.

The state of the art Flexo presses have been ordered from Italian manufacturer Giovanni Cerutti.