Chinese automaker Foton and Algerian car dealer KIV on Thursday established a joint venture allowing them to assemble cars and trucks in the North African nation.
The assembly plant is based in the province of Annaba, 535 km east of Algiers, as it is due to start producing 5,000 Foton branded cars and trucks until March, 2018, and gradually increasing outputs to hit 50,000 units in 10 years.
The project is worth 5.5 million U.S. dollars, and would create 200 direct jobs, said a statement issued by KIV.
Speaking on the sidelines of the contract signing ceremony, KIV Group General Manager Ahcene Khodja said the plant would start producing three truck models, including 2.5 ton pickup trucks, five ton trucks and six ton trucks.
Director of Beijing Municipal Economic and Information Technology Commission, Zhang Boxu, said that Foton has been established in Algeria for 15 years, yet it has been limited to distribution of its models throughout its North African partner, KIV group.
"Our partnership project is in line with the new investment law in Algeria, as Foton owns 49 percent shares, while its Algerian partner owns the majority of 51 percent," Zhang noted.
Ministerial decree accompanied by specifications dating from 2014 requiring all foreign car dealers to establish assembly plants in the country, as part of the north African nation's plan of industrialization and to curb car-imports' bill.
French automaker Renault and South Korean's Hyundai have already started assembling their models, while Germany's Volkswagen is set to start outputting its models by June.
Zhang added that he has met with Algerian officials and businessmen and both sides also agreed to widen bilateral cooperation in the fields of electronics, building materials, food processing and agriculture.
