Western Sahara attracts Chinese interest

A delegation from the Chinese company HUAYOU, the leading manufacturer of electric battery components, recently visited Laayoune to study a major investment project valued at 200 billion dirhams (20 billion dollars) over a period of 7 years, according to a communiqué to which Rue20 Español has had access.

For his part, the Director General of the Regional Investment Centre of the Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra region, Mohamed Jifer, has highlighted the potential of Western Sahara, a Moroccan region that meets all the conditions for the success of the Chinese company's plans.

This project could cover 30% of the needs of the Chinese, European and American markets in the electric battery industry, which means more than 6 million car batteries by 2030.

This million-dollar investment could also create more than 13,000 permanent jobs in the region, as well as favouring the development of an integrated system for battery production in the Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra area.

However, this is not the first time that a Chinese company specialising in batteries for electric cars has looked at the Kingdom's potential. Last June, the Chinese-European group Gotion High-Tech, which specialises in electric mobility, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Moroccan government under the presidency of Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch to set up a battery factory for electric vehicles.

The Chinese company had been considering for months the idea of building a second assembly plant in Europe - the first was built in Germany - but finally opted to consolidate the relationship with Morocco, a country that is emerging as a leading player in the automotive industry.  

For years, the North African country has been strengthening its automotive sector, also taking into account the production of electric cars, where it seeks to position itself as a leading international platform. So much so that last May, King Mohammed VI presided over a ceremony at the Royal Palace in Rabat to present to the public the first Moroccan car model and a prototype of a hydrogen vehicle, also of Moroccan manufacture.

According to figures announced by the Moroccan Minister of Industry and Trade, Ryad Mezzour, the Kingdom's electric car production capacity will reach 100,000 vehicles per year in two to three years, doubling current production.

This latest visit by the HUAYOU delegation is part of the growing attractiveness of the Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra region, which has aroused the interest of many other countries such as the United Kingdom and France.