China's BYD to build electric car factory in Morocco

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Morocco and Chinese automaker BYD signed on Saturday an agreement to open a factory in the north African country to build battery-powered cars, according to the country's official news agency Maghreb Arab Press (MAP)

The agreement was inked in Casablanca by BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu, Morocco's Minister for Industry and Investment Moulay Hafid El Alamy, and Financial Minister Mohamed Boussaid.

The factory will be built in the new Mohamed VI Tangier Tech City, as part of a project between China and Morocco to create a large-scale industrial hub in the northern city of Tangier.

A vehicle sits in an acoustics testing lab at the BYD Co. headquarters in Shenzhen, China, September 21, 2017. /VCG Photo

The plant will cover an area of 50 hectares and is expected to employ 2,500 people.

Also on Saturday, King Mohammed VI of Morocco received Wang at the Royal Palace in Casablanca.

The king also chaired the presentation ceremony of BYD's electric transportation system project in Morocco, the report said.

The meeting shows the king's determination to encourage and diversify the kingdom's economic and trade partnerships, as demonstrated by the king's numerous visits to several countries, including China, with which Morocco enjoys "exemplary political and economic relations," MAP said.

Through this strategic partnership, Morocco joins, for the first time in Africa, forces with a pioneer in the field of integrated new energy solutions, it added.

Founded in 1995, BYD currently has nearly 220,000 employees and 30 industrial parks around the world with a combined area of more than 18 million square meters.

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Source(s): Xinhua News Agency