Pretoria - A new R600m truck assembly plant to be built at Coega in the Eastern Cape will attract investment and generate jobs in the region, Communications Minister Faith Muthambi said on Thursday.
Briefing the media in Pretoria following Cabinet's fortnightly meeting the day before, she said the plant - funded by China's First Automotive Works (FAW) Corporation and the China-Africa Development Fund - was one of the largest investments by a Chinese company in South Africa.
"Cabinet welcomes the launch today by President Jacob Zuma of the FAW assembly plant and operation in the Coega industrial development zone."
Muthambi said benefits to the region and the province "include generation of foreign direct investment that will in turn create sustainable jobs and provide opportunities for skills development and training".
The plant will initially assemble 5 000 trucks annually for the sub-Saharan African market, where FAW plans to entrench itself as a leader in the local commercial vehicle market among the manufacturers and importers of Chinese-origin vehicles.