Update: China's BYD to build car factory in Morocco

RABAT, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- Morocco and Chinese BYD electric vehicle maker signed on Saturday an agreement to open a factory in Morocco to build battery-powered cars, official MAP news agency reported.

The agreement was inked in Casablanca by BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu, Morocco's Minister for Industry and Investment Moulay Hafid El Alamy, and Financial Minister Mohamed Boussaid.

The factory will be built in the new Mohamed VI Tangier Tech City, as part of a project between China and Morocco to create a large-scale industrial hub in the northern city of Tangier.

The plant will cover an area of 50 hectares, and is expected to employ 2,500 people.

Also on Saturday, King Mohammed VI of Morocco received Wang Chuanfu at Royal Palace in Casablanca.

The king also chaired the presentation ceremony of BYD's electric transportation system project in Morocco, the report said.

The meeting shows the king's determination to encourage and diversify the kingdom's economic and trade partnerships, as demonstrated by the king's numerous visits to several countries, including China, with which Morocco enjoys "exemplary political and economic relations," MAP said.

Through this strategic partnership, Morocco joins, for the first time in Africa, forces with a pioneer in the field of integrated new energy solutions, it added.

Founded in 1995, BYD currently has nearly 220,000 employees and 30 industrial parks around the world with an area of more than 18 million square meters. Enditem