(TAP) – Prime Minister Youssef Chahed visited on Friday afternoon in Ben Arous, the headquarters of the "SagemCom Tunisia" company, whose annual turnover amounts to 600 million euros.

The company produces nearly 600,000 digital and smart meters monthly and employs nearly 4.5 thousand people.

This visit is part of the company's plant extension project, which will start in February 2019, covering an area of 10,000 m2, in Ezzahra neighbourhood (Ben Arous governorate), with additional investments of around 20 million euros, which will create 2,000 new jobs. This extension targets the increase in the production of smart meters, by introducing modern manufacturing and assembly lines.

The PM said that this visit to a pioneering company in the intelligent technology industries, aims to get to know this company, which has succeeded with Tunisian skills, to position itself strongly in the industries of the future, in the world.

"SagemCom Tunisia", has faced, during the past period, problems related to exports. Chahed said that this company, like other foreign companies in Tunisia, has experienced several administrative obstacles and problems. He pledged to help it to overcome its problems, so that it can expand its activity, which will have a beneficial impact on the Tunisian economy.

According to Riadh Gadhgadhi, director of smart meters at "SagemCom Tunisia", the company that employs more than 600 Tunisian engineers in the electronics field, has a global capacity of 4,500 permanent jobs and more than 7,000 indirect jobs. It exports smart meters, advanced equipment and digital sensors to several countries around the world.

The company has been established in Tunisia for 17 years. The total value of its investments amounts to 100 million euros