Iraq builds first car manufacturing plant

2013-07-26 By Khalid al-Taie in Baghdad

New cars are displayed at the opening of the Baghdad International Auto Fair in 2011. [Ahmad al-Rubaye/AFP]


Construction on Iraq's first car manufacturing factory is complete, officials from the State Company for Automotive Industry -- which funded the project -- told Mawtani.


The factory, which will manufacture sedan cars, will officially open in October, said the company's media director Haidar al-Shebli.

The 340,000 square metres, 16 billion dinar ($13.8 million) plant is located in al-Iskandariyah and was funded by profits the company made from selling cars and trucks it had accumulated, he said.

Metal structures, forklifts, overhead conveyor belts for engines and other car parts, in addition to machines, various production tools and storage spaces make up the factory, said al-Shebli.
Iraq has contracted with Chinese firm BYD to have two car production lines at the factory, he said, with the understanding that other companies will open additional production lines at a later date.

Iraq plans to contract with 15 such companies from countries including France, South Korea and China, he added. Next year, the al-Iskandariyah factory intends to begin manufacturing Renault trucks according to a contract signed with a French company.

Other factory projects include production lines for municipality trucks used in paving and cleaning roads, al-Shebli said, adding that his company is currently negotiating with companies like Sweden's Scania and Volvo to open production lines for such vehicles.

The company is also trying to upgrade the skills and expertise of its engineering and technical staff by enrolling them in training courses abroad, he said.

"Representatives of foreign companies, during their field visits to see production at the company's projects and plants, commended the efficiency of our staff and the progress they have made in the automobile and truck manufacturing fields," he said.


A 'leap in industry'

Plant supervisor Ismail Mutlaq said the factory has a high production output: it was designed to produce 20 automobiles per hour and 120,000 units a year.

A total of 2,000 employees will work at the factory, he said, and the plant is expected to open up about 10,000 indirect jobs.

"Iraq's auto industry is set to go through a significant leap in the near future through the opening of a number of factories and production lines that bear the names of well-known international companies," Mutlaq said.

It is crucial to support this industrial sector, in view of its economic importance and the role it plays in meeting local market needs for vehicles, he said.

The opening of the first automobile factory represents "a new leap in the course of Iraqi industry, which has begun witnessing considerable growth in recent years", said Nahida al-Dayeni, member of the parliamentary economic committee.

"We hope this project, and the other projects to be inaugurated, will become a genuine nucleus so automobiles and trucks can be 100% made in Iraq, as Iraq possesses the basic requirements for this industry, the most important being expertise and human resources," she said.

"We support the idea that it is necessary for the state to strengthen its support of such industrial activity because it is an important pillar for the national economy," she said. "We, as the economic committee, will work towards obtaining further support to uplift and develop this industrial sector."


http://mawtani.al-shorfa.com/en_GB/articles/iii/features/2013/07/26/feature-02