German car giant Volkswagen will delay the decision to build a new plant in Turkey for the second time, MIA reports.

The agency cites an anonymous source in the British media, according to which the

"We still have time and can certainly do that decision by mid-year," said the source, who is familiar with VW's discussions.

VW had picked Manisa, 40 km (25 miles) northeast of Izmir on Turkey's western coast, for the 1.3 billion-euro (.4 billion) plant.

Last December, it was announced that by the end of this month, Volkswagen would decide on the matter.

Because of Turkey's military campaign in Syria, the automotive concern has frozen the decision to invest more than EUR 1 billion to build production facilities in Turkey.

The plans envisage the construction of a car manufacturing plant in the city of Manisa near Izmir with an annual capacity of 300,000 cars, employing 4,000 people.

Despite the delay in the decision, the concern emphasizes that it is not looking for an alternative destination for its new plant. Bulgaria, Serbia and Romania have expressed interest in receiving the investment, but the decision of Volkswagen was in favour of Turkey.