MOROCCO – Citic Dicastal Group has launched construction on its third aluminium manufacturing unit in the Atlantic Free Zone of Kenitra (AFZ) with a budget of MAD 1.8 billion (US$192 million).
Citic Dicastal is a Chinese equipment manufacturer specializing in the casting and production of aluminium automotive parts, including rims, powertrains, and chassis.
The company has two operating aluminium manufacturing plants in Kenitra. The units were opened on June 26, 2019, and December 20, 2020.
The Chinese Group kicked off the construction of its new industrial unit, Dika Morocco Castings (DMC) in the presence of Morocco’s Minister of Industry and Commerce Ryad Mezzour, Governor of Kenitra Fouad M’Hamdi.
The Moroccan officials were joined by Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China in Morocco Li Changlin, and Vice-President and General Manager of Dicastal Morocco Africa Badr Lahmoudi, the Ministry of Industry reported in a press release.
Dika Morocco Castings is set to open in six months and provide job opportunities to 766 people.
Powered by green energy, DMC will have a production capacity of 10 million units per year as it provides Morocco.
The large-scale project resulted from a videoconference between Citic Dicastal’s Vice-President Xu Zuo and Minister of Industry Ryad Mezzour.
In Morocco, the Chinese group has created 1,200 jobs in two factories with a current total annual production capacity of 6 million rims.
The Citic Dicastal-Morocco partnership serves as a symbol to Sino-Moroccan economic and diplomatic relations.
The cooperation fits neatly into China’s global development Belt and Road strategy that promotes massive Chinese infrastructure investments across the world.
Morocco’s participation in China’s Belt and Road initiative was welcomed by Ning Jizhe, vice-chairman of China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
He highlighted the vast economic exchange between the two nations at the signing of the Morocco-China implementation plan for the Belt and Road initiative in January.
Globally, Citic Dicastal employs 17,000 people across 26 production units in Europe, North America, and China.
With an annual production capacity of 70 million rims and 90,000 tonnes of lightweight components, the group supplies major car manufacturers such as GM, Toyota, Renault, Stellantis, Volkswagen, BMW, and Audi.
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