The Indian car manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra will assemble commercial vehicles of the Mahindra brand in the town of Ksar El Boukhari (Medea), as part of a joint venture agreement concluded the day before yesterday in Algiers with its Algerian partner Sodivem. “This important event marks the beginning of a major industrial project that will create a plant that will include the assembly and manufacture of Mahindra pick-up and mini-truck, as well as the manufacture of spare parts and other accessories. Our goal is to achieve as much as possible, or even exceed the integration rate established by the Ministry of Industry, “said Brahimi Sabri, Sodivem CEO, after the signing ceremony of said joint venture.
The subsidiary of Mahindra group, based in India, will hold a minority stake in the joint venture, while its Algerian representative will have a majority share under the law governing foreign investment. “Our prestigious partner, Mahindra & Mahindra, leader in several fields (…) will bring all the know-how and assistance so that at the end of our production lines, products of quality, in conformity with the international standards and of nature to allow us to approach the export component without difficulty to countries with the same standards as Algeria, and also to satisfy the local market in quality products at competitive prices, “he added. Mahindra’s facilities are already ready in India for “achieving all our goals”. “This project will also undoubtedly allow the Algerian industry to make a quantum leap in the supply of quality products at competitive prices,” said Brahimi Sabri.
For his part, Mathew Arvind, general manager of international operations at Mahindra & Mahindra, said he was “honored” to be in Algeria to assist in the creation of the joint venture with his local partner. “What brought us and encouraged us to come to Algeria is the ambition expressed by our group. We found in Sabri Brahimi a lot of ambition and energy. This is a good time because the Mahindra group thinks that Algeria is ready for this project, “he said. “On Sunday, we signed a joint venture in Tizi Ouzou with a local operator for the assembly of agricultural tractors, and this Monday we signed a joint venture with Sodivem. I’m sure these projects will be a success, “said Indian representative Mahindra & Mahindra.
The commercial vehicle assembly plant, which will be built on an area of 22,000 m2, on land that covers a total area of 220,000 m2, required an investment of 4.8 billion dinars, according to the project sheet presented by a manager of Sodivem. The production capacity of the assembly plant will be 6,000 commercial vehicles for the first year, and 24,000 commercial vehicles in the fifth year of operation. The unit will initially assemble utility vehicles that have proven themselves in Algeria and India, like Mahindra Scorpio and Mahindra Supro. The plant will generate 750 direct jobs, including 10% female and 200 indirect jobs. In terms of training, Sodivem is considering, among other things, the training of 25 technicians and engineers in the factories of the Indian manufacturer.
El Watan
11/28/2018
[Automaticaly guided translation]