MOROCCO – Aptiv, the European auto parts company, has entered into an agreement with the Council of the Oriental Region (CRO), the Regional Investment Center (CRI) of the Orient, and provincial authorities of the Oriental region of Morocco to bring to the region a new automotive plant with approximately US$43.8 million in investment funds.
The new auto factory’s construction is scheduled to begin in January 2022, with a planned opening date in June of the same year. The plant will employ 3,500 local residents and will span eight hectares within the Oujda Technology Park.
Among the signatories of the monumental agreement were Oujda-Angad governor Mouad El Jamai, CRO President Abdenbi Bioui, CRI Regional Director-General Mohamed Sabri, industrial park management group MedZ’s Chairman of the Board of Directors Omar El Yazghi, and representatives of Aptiv.
Dubbed a “mega-factory,” the new plant will focus on the production of automotive cable production. CRI representatives stated that the new project “testifies to the great confidence” foreign investors have in the future of Morocco’s economic capabilities in the eastern portion of the country.
Experts believe the project will also encourage future foreign investors to consider eastern Morocco as a location for future investment projects.
The increased investment opportunities are bolstered by the incoming inauguration of the Nador West Med Port. Expected to be completed by 2023, the Nador port will offer industries in eastern Morocco a convenient alternative to the popular Tangier Med Port located to the west.
Morocco’s location near major maritime shipping routes has piqued the interest of investors, providing a simple route for the transfer of resources from Africa and completed products to Europe and beyond.
In coordination with the planned automotive facility, job recruitment programs will also be launched with the assistance of the Mohammed Premier University of Oujda, the Office for Vocational Training and Work Promotion, and the National Agency for the Promotion of Employment and Skills in the Oriental region, according to CRI representatives.
