French company to launch automobile engineering center in Morocco

The French company Matra Automobile Engineering, an affiliate of the Italian group Pininfarina, will launch in Casablanca a 34 million DHs ($ 3.7 mln) worth automobile research and development center.

The project, to be operational in two years, will generate 60 jobs for automobile engineers and technicians. Matra also committed to train cadres and higher education students of automobile engineering.

President of the group, Andrea Pininfarina told the press after the signing of the agreement with the Moroccan government, a group of Moroccan engineers and technicians will undertake a six-month training in France to be operational by 2005.

Some 18 million Dhs (US$ 2 million) of the overall cost of the project will be exclusively dedicated to training in order to guarantee the independence of the center whose sales is estimated at 33 million Dhs ($ 3.6 million).

Pininfarina added that Morocco will be a platform for the activities of his group that has plans to expand its activities in the automobile sector in the kingdom.

Pininfarina group employs some 2,486 people around the world and makes designs for renowned automobile constructors like Ferrari, Alfa, Peugeot, Mitsubishi and Hyundai.