NEW YORK (Kyodo) Toyota Motor Corp. is participating in a bid for public land in Michigan with the aim of expanding its research and development facilities, company officials said Tuesday.

Toyota wants to use the land, a 280-hectare vacant lot on which a hospital stood until it was closed in 1991, to enlarge the Toyota Technical Center in Michigan.

Although the officials did not reveal its bidding price, U.S. media reported the company has offered $9 million.

The winning bidder will be announced later this month. Toyota is expected to win the bid, as the state government says it will consider bidders' possible contributions to job creation in addition to their offers.

The Toyota Technical Center, established in 1977, is the automaker's R&D foothold in North America.