Saudi Arabia signs deal to assemble Isuzu trucks

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia signed on Monday an agreement with Japanese truck maker Isuzu Motors Ltd for building motor assembly factory in the Kingdom. The plant will be built in Dammam, in the eastern part of the Kingdom over an area of 120,000 square meters.

The agreement was signed by Abdullah Bin Ahmad Zenel, Saudi Minister of Commerce and Industry and Susumu Hosoi President of Isuzu Motors.

The factory will start with the assembly of medium-duty trucks and at later phases will expand to heavy-duty and light-duty models. Isuzu is the first Japanese carmaker to begin production in the kingdom.

The event was attended by a number of officials including the Japanese ambassador to Riyadh and the director general of the Saudi industrial Property Authority (Modon), the Saudi official body overseeing industrial cities in different regions of Saudi Arabia.

Production is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2012 with 600 medium-size transporting trucks. By 2017, and thanks to the expansion of the project, it will produce 5,000 transporting trucks of various types annually. Around 40 per cent of its production will be exported to world markets, and it is expected that the project will create 800 jobs.

Benefits

Speaking at the function, the Saudi Commerce and Industry Minister noted that his country's market is attractive for the establishment of automobile factories due to the economic benefits and incentives granted by the government as well as the availability of financial facilities, qualified manpower, integrated infrastructure and supporting industries. He pointed out that the Saudi market is one of the strongest markets in the region in terms of the number of trucks consumed, adding that this fact makes the economic feasibility of the project motivating for the establishment of this factory in the Kingdom.

Some relevant studies indicate that Saudi Arabia is the biggest Arab country in term of motors import. The Kingdom imports about 600,000 cars every year and there are currently about eight million cars on the Kingdom's streets.

The minister pointed out that the Saudi government is working to make industry a strategic option for diversifying sources of income. "We view industry as a key sector which contributes to sustainable development," he added. He said the government has been keen to support and encourage industry by granting incentives for both local and foreign investors.

• 600: medium size trucks to be assembled in 2012
• 800: jobs the project is expected to create