(Corrects paragraph 3 to clarify that the new Singapore plant will make components for civil use only)
* Invests 300 million sterling in 4 UK factories, 2 research projects
* British government contributes 45 million sterling
* Investment to create or safeguard 800 UK jobs * Ups investment in Singapore to 300 million sterling
* Rolls-Royce employees in Singapore to rise by 500 to 2,000
(Adds details, background)
LONDON, July 28 (Reuters) - Engine maker Rolls-Royce said on Tuesday it would build or extend four factories in Britain and open a new plant in Singapore, creating new jobs in both countries.
The British company plans to invest over 300 million pounds ($496 million) in the UK where unemployment is running at the highest rate in 12 years. The government will contribute 45 million pounds towards the projects which are expected to create or secure 800 jobs.
In Singapore, Rolls-Royce will build a new factory making wide chord fan blades (WCFB) for use in commercial aircraft engines. The plant will be alongside a facility testing and assembling Trent engines.
Total investment at the Seletar Campus site will now be about 300 million pounds and the new plant will create 500 new jobs, bringing the total number of people employed by the company in Singapore to around 2,000.
"This latest investment ... reflects our continuing confidence in Singapore as a place to locate high value-added manufacturing," Rolls-Royce Chief Executive John Rose said in a statement.
In Britain, Rolls-Royce plans a new casting facility for turbine blades, a factory making discs used in fans and turbines, an extension to its existing WCFB facility and a new plant making components for nuclear power stations.
It will also invest in government-backed research into developing greener aircraft engines and research into more productive, environmentally friendly production techniques. (Reporting by Paul Hoskins; Editing by Victoria Bryan) ($1=.6045 Pound)