ORAN- The construction works of Peugeot Citroen car assembly plant were launched, Sunday in Tafraoui, province of Oran, said Director General of the French group in Algeria Jérôme Fournier.
The plant will enter the production phase in the first half of 2020 with a capacity of 25,000 vehicles per year, with the aim of increasing this capacity four years later to 50,000 vehicles and then to 75,000 units, the same official said.
Mr. Fournier also indicated that significant resources will be put in place to ensure a production of 10 vehicles per hour.
“This capacity can be increased depending on the number of teams,” he said, adding that the first series of vehicles will be produced at the end of next January.
The Tafraoui plant will produce three models of vehicles and will allow the creation of 1,000 direct and 4,000 indirect jobs, added Jérôme Fournier, stating that the integration rate will be 15% in the third year of production to reach after six years a rate of 40%.
For his part, the director general at the Ministry of Industry and Mines, Mustapha Hamoudi said that this project “will contribute to the creation of new jobs, bring added value to the national economy and allow the export of vehicles and spare parts “.
He also stressed that the automotive industry is one of the government’s priorities.
At his press conference, PSA Vice President of the Middle East and Africa, Jean Christophe Quemard said that the group he represents is available to produce a large number of vehicle models after approval of the Algerian authorities .
“The PSA Group will respect the clauses of the specifications and the regulations in force,” he assured.
As a reminder, a memorandum of understanding for the construction of a Peugeot Citroën production assembly plant was signed in November 2017.
