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Tunisia-China: 2 MoU to develop infrastructure in south, car plant in Tunisia signed

Published the:  04/09/2018

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(TAP) - Two memoranda of understanding were signed Tuesday between Tunisia and Chinese companies, at the headquarters of the Tunisian embassy in Beijing, in the presence of Prime Minister Youssef Chahed, who is partaking in in the 3rd Forum on China-Africa Co-operation (September 3 and 4, 2018 in Beijing).

The first MoU signed between Tunisia and China civil engineering corporation concerns the pre-feasibility studies of the Djerba bridge, the Gabes-Zarzis-Medenine railway line and the extension of the Zarzis economic zone.

The second memorandum was signed between Chinese auto giant SAIC Motor and the Tunisian group Meninx; it provides for the establishment of a car manufacturing plant in Tunisia.

On his project, CEO of the Meninx group, Mehdi Tamarziste told TAP "a technical team under the Chinese company will travel to Tunisia to prepare the logistical aspects of the project and identify possible locations for the installation of that plant."

He added that "the success of the implementation of this project whose job capacity could reach 10 thousand positions is likely to improve Tunisia's positioning on the international map of the automotive industry".

"The Chinese investor is the main contractor of this big project," he said.

The Tunisian side will provide the necessary assistance for this activity, which is of great importance for the Chinese side, since it will manufacture cars for Europe and Africa."

Tamarziste also said that Tunisia was chosen to host this project thanks to the free trade agreements it has signed with China but also to the importance of its industrial fabric in automotive industry.

He expressed the hope that this partnership could pave the way for similar partnerships with other Chinese automobile companies