São Paulo – On Thursday (9), the Renault-Nissan factory, in Tangiers, Morocco, was inaugurated. The unit will have capacity to produce 400,000 vehicles a year up to the end of 2014 and the cars produced will be exported and generate 3.5 billion euros (US$ 4.6 billion), according to news published by Moroccan news agency Magreb Arabe Presse (MAP). Currently, the unit’s capacity is 30 vehicles per hour and by 2014 it should have doubled, to 60 cars an hour.
The inauguration ceremony included the presence of King Mohamed VI. During the event, a model of the Lodgy vehicle, to be produced in the new unit, was presented. According to the director general of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, Carlos Ghosn, who also participated in the event, 90% of local production will be shipped abroad, not only to the European continent. The other 10% will remain in the region, sold in the Moroccan, Middle Eastern, North African and African markets.
The industrial complex should have strong impact in the Moroccan and local economy, in Tangiers. The minister of Industry, Trade and New Technologies of Morocco, Abdelkader Aâmara, said that the factory should create a domino effect on employment, with attraction of foreign investment in Tangiers Free Zone. The Renault-Nissan unit should generate 6,000 direct jobs and 30,000 indirect ones. The enterprise is part of a Moroccan strategy for development of the country’s industrial development plan, named “Plan Emergene”.
The factory will be one of the greenest in the world. Carbon emissions will be fully compensated, 135,000 tonnes a year. The waste water will not be disposed of in the environment and the industrial process will reduce water consumption by 70%. Apart from that, all energy needs will be supplied by wind and hydroelectric sources.
To provide investment incentives, the government of Morocco have created, built, equipped and should now manage the Tanger-Med Automobile Training Institute. The space started operating in 2011, offering training to unit employees. In 2011, there were 310,000 hours of training and in 2012 there will be another 600,000 hours.
*Translated by Mark Ament
