Asharq Al Awsat
Abdullah al-Tajani
Morocco continues its dynamism in attracting foreign investments and convincing them of establishing their own units in the country as Magneti Marelli, a subsidiary of the Italian investment group in this field ‘Fiat,’ and Morocco have signed an agreement building an automotive production plant.
The agreement was signed from the Moroccan side by Minister of Industry, investment, Trade and the Digital Economy Moulay Hafid Elallamy and Minister of Economics and Finance Mohamed Boussaid and on behalf of Magneti Marelli its CEO Pietro Gorlier.
It includes the installation of a manufacturing facility specialized in automotive components production, which will deliver shock absorbers in the first phase.
The industrial zone will be located in Tangier, in the free zone “Tanger Automotive City”, and it will cover an area of approximately 20,000 square meters, with the possibility of subsequent expansion.
The production capacity, when fully operational, will be approximately six million pieces, and the production is forecast to begin within 2019, with the progressive employment of approximately 500 workers by 2025.
The project will require a global investment of about 37 million euros and will benefit from the support of the Moroccan State as provided by its automotive industry policy.
The activity will initially focus on the production of shock absorbers for cars and commercial vehicles, with the possible extension of the scope to other products.
For Magneti Marelli, the localization of production in Morocco follows the logic of supporting locally the industrial sites and the business expansion of a number of important automotive clients in the North African region and marks the opening of a new market in the Maghreb area.
“We are delighted to be partners with the Moroccan State in one of the strategic objectives of the country, the development of the automotive industry,” said Gorlier.
For Magneti Marelli, “the creation of an industrial site in Morocco represents an opportunity to further expand its business, responding to the demands and needs of a number of key clients that are making important investments in the area.”
For his part, Elalamy, who welcomes this new facility installation, highlighted that “the Magneti Marelli project feeds the manufacturing and sourcing ecosystems in the context of the Industrial Accelerated Plan.
‘With this new project, a new craft is being developed in Morocco, the value chain is getting more complex and the sector is gaining from a successful integration,” Elalamy said.
The Magneti Marelli activity will benefit also to the network of the local suppliers to whom the Tangier factory will be getting its supply.
