APS : Wednesday, 13 February 2019
ALGIERS – A partnership agreement between Algerian private group Hasnaoui and Japanese car manufacturer Nissan Motor signed on Wednesday in Algiers on the installation of car production plant in Algeria.
The investment is worth $160 million.
The agreement has been signed by the co-chairs of the Algerian group, Sefiane and Feriel Hasnaoui, and senior vice president of Nissan Motor, for Africa, Middle East and India region, Peyman Kargar, in the presence of the Industry and Mines Ministry’s General Secretary Kheireddine Medjoubi.
The signing of this agreement comes after the government approved the project in December 2018. In the coming months, a joint venture will be created and which start the construction of the plant for a duration of 12 months.
This joint venture will be branded the Hasnaoui Automotive Production Group (GHAP SPA) and plans to create more than 1,800 jobs in Algeria.
This car manufacturing plant will start activity as of the first half of 2020, with an initial capacity of 63,500 light-duty and tourist vehicles per year, said Sefiane Hasnaoui.
This Nissan plant will be located in Oran region, the same official said without giving further details on the precise location of the site.
According to him, Nissan’s technical teams will work with Algerian operators to increase the integration rate of parts used in the vehicle manufacturing, said the group’s co-chairman. Nissan teams will also provide technical support and training.
Hasnaoui group has been the official distributor of Nissan vehicles in Algeria for almost 25 years.
Hasnaoui said that this future plant plans to export a share of its production: “If our project will not have a regional approach, we will have missed an episode “.
Nissan Motor’s senior vice president for Africa, Middle East and India region, Kargar said that Algeria has “strategic” place in the medium-term development plan Nissan international (2019-2022).
“Nissan is growing in Africa, and Algeria is a key market for us. With its potential it is set to be Africa’s second largest market by 2022,” Kargar said.
The Japanese manufacturer will bring its know-how and expertise to build a factory meeting the “rigorous” global standards that will make this plant in Algeria a “center of excellence”.
According to him, through this investment project, Nissan in Algeria will produce four types of vehicles equipped with Japanese “innovative technology.
