10.000 Algerian Mercedes in two years

Algerian Defence Ministry ended works on the project of producing 10.000 cars type Mercedes over the next two years in Boucheguif factory in Tiaret, west of Algeria, which was restored last July, in parallel with the signing of the convention, first of its kind, with Aabar Investment owned by government of Abu Dhabi, and the group Daimler as well as a number of German companies, aiming to establish three industrial projects, with a total investment up to $720 million.

• Khadem Al Kabisi, chairman of Aabar’s administration, said; “details of the first project of the kind have finished. It will allow the establishment of a factory for collecting Mercedes cars, used for the military and paramilitary purposes. The project costs $172 million, while its capacity of production during the next two years will reach about 10.000 cars, under the supervision of the Ministry of Defence in cooperation with “Mercedes Benz”. The Algerian market is one of the emerging markets with promising investment opportunities”.
• “Preliminary discussions with the Algerian partner about the second project have finished. It will allow the production of military vehicles, through investing over $288 million, while the third project is similar but with the cost of $260 million. Aabr investment is interested in auto industry, particularly the European ones. Investment in this sector is one of the company’s successful options”, he says.
• Government announced the signing of a very discreetly  protocol agreement between Algerian, German and Emirates economists, saying in a brief statement that it is about the establishment of a commercial and technological partnership, including the establishment of three multinational economic companies that are specialized in conducting and exploiting projects at the regions of the mechanical industry in Algeria, including Ain Smara and Oued Hmimime in Constantine, east of Algeria, and Boucheguif in Tiaret, west of Algeria.
• The UAE partner includes, Aabar investment group, which is the largest contributor in the company Daimler, the German partner is represented by a group of companies, specialized in the mechanical industry, engineering, construction of companies, and cars’ production, including “Man” and “Ferrostaal” for building companies.
• The International Petroleum Investment Company “IPIC”, which owned by government of Abu Dhabi with 70% of shares, and “Daimler”, “Dotz”, “MTO” and “Rein Mittal”, specialized in defensive engineering and cars and energy components industry.
• Aabar is an investment company headquartered in Abu Dhabi, with direct investment in various sectors including energy, infrastructure, real estate development, and cars industry, as well as engineering of the financial services.
• Algeria tires to build the first factory to install “Fiat” cars during the Eighties in the region of Boucheguif in Tiaret, west of Algeria, but failed, until the Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, ordered the Ministry of Defence last July, to restore the industrial base which was earmarked for the cars installation, and use it in producing military cars, that are frequently demanded by the various security services, particularly police, gendarmerie and army.
• Government said the site of “Fatia” company, a name designated by the Algerian government on the first Algerian car, expected to be produced at the beginning of 1992, and become under the tutelage of the Ministry of Defence. The site has been initialized and is ready, having a covered area of production, and another designed for storage and a railway line which linked the industrial zone with the port of Mostaghanem, west of Algeria, to receive ships of transporting cars, as well ports of Djendjen, Jijel, east of Algeria, operated by Dubai Ports World, and port of El Ghzaouat, west of Algeria.
• A source, in a direct contact with the file, told Echorouk that this agreement is the first of the kind in history of industrial cooperation with UAE and German large companies, and the three projects will ensure independence of the services, belonging to the Ministry of Defence, and the various government departments which consume every year hundreds of vehicles imported from Japan and South Korea via local mediators.
• Same source said the Ministry of Defence has initiated, through this strategic move, to give a string impetus to the industrial sector and reviving the industrial bases in a consistent manner with the new industrial strategy, which was approved by the government two years ago, and which aim to reorganize the industrial sector in the main regions allowing the national industry to take off again relying first on the national capacities, particularly the large technical, technological and money capacities available at the Ministry of Defence.
• “ This step is a strong reaction from Algeria to the cars companies which refuse to invest in Algeria, working strongly to continue transferring the national funds towards their countries in a provocative way.
• Previously, president Bouteflika ordered on the 21st July, the establishment of an institution to develop cars industry in Tiaret, west of Algeria, in the context of an industrial strategy which was approved by government on the 26th February 2007, following the first national meetings of industry.