Construction work was officially launched on Friday on a major industrial project dedicated to tire manufacturing in the Batouiya Industrial Acceleration Zone, in Driouch Province, northeastern Morocco. The project is set to become the largest tire manufacturing facility of its kind on the African continent.
The project is being developed by the Chinese group Shandong Yongsheng Rubber through its Moroccan subsidiary Goldensen Tire Morocco, with a total investment estimated at around 6.7 billion dirhams.
Spanning an area of approximately 52 hectares, the new factory is expected to create about 1,737 direct jobs, in addition to hundreds of indirect employment opportunities during both the construction and operational phases.
Thanks to its strategic location near the Nador West Med Port, the project will benefit from direct access to European and African markets. It is also expected to contribute to technology transfer and the development of industrial research and innovation through the establishment of dedicated research and development units. Once fully operational, the plant’s production capacity is projected to reach around 18 million tires annually.
Scheduled for completion in early next year, the industrial complex will include an integrated unit for the production of car tires in line with international standards, as well as industrial research centers and advanced logistics facilities designed to serve global distribution markets.
Speaking at the launch ceremony, Karim Zidane, Minister Delegate in charge of Investment, Convergence and Evaluation of Public Policies, said that the laying of the foundation stone marks a structural step and a concrete transition from decision-making to implementation, as the project enters its execution phase.
“This project is tangible proof that when stakeholders within the investment ecosystem share the same ambition, Morocco demonstrates its ability to move forward with speed and precision,” Zidane said, describing the Yongsheng project as a strategic industrial investment.
He added that, given its scale, sectoral positioning and expected impact, the project directly contributes to national priorities related to industrialization, sustainable job creation, and the strengthening of Morocco’s productive capacities.
The minister further stressed that large-scale tire production in accordance with international industrial standards will help reinforce Morocco’s industrial sovereignty and deepen its integration into global value chains with high technological intensity, noting that the project also sends a strong and positive signal to the Oriental region.
