The Canadian firm Aphria is planning to launch an investment for the cultivation and production of medicinal in northeastern Greek region of Xanthi within 2018, Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA) sources said on Wednesday.

Representatives of the company had another meeting with Deputy Economy and Development Minister Stergios Pitsiorlas on Wednesday to discuss the planned investment, on a 5,000-hectare property, which is forecast to pump one billion euros into the Greek economy and create 450-500 jobs, the sources said.

The company is apparently hoping that the necessary procedures and joint ministerial decisions will be signed as soon as possible so that it can launch the investment before the end of the current year.

Aphria is a Canadian listed company that specialises in the production of industrial and medicinal cannabis and has operations in the United States, Canada and Germany.