A Chinese textile company is preparing to invest up to 2.29bn dirhams in Morocco and create thousands of jobs. Shengtai Group has received approval from Chinese authorities for its overseas investment in the country. The project will include two textile plants in Skhirat and Fez.
The company plans to spend the money on land, factories and other facilities. Work will be carried out in stages over five years or less.
The plants will make “high-quality cotton yarn, high-quality fabrics, and high-quality garments”.
The planned factories will have an annual capacity of 100,000 spindles of cotton yarn, 10,800 tonnes of dyed and finished fabrics, 15 million metres of woven fabrics and 22 million garments.
The project is expected to create 7,000 direct jobs and 1,500 indirect jobs.
Shengtai’s investment comes soon after another large Chinese textile project in the same two cities.
Sunrise Garment Group has signed a 2.3bn-dirham investment agreement to build two textile plants in Fez and Skhirat. The project is also expected to create 8,500 jobs.
Both projects will cover several stages of textile production, including yarn, fabrics and clothes.
The two investments come as Morocco tries to grow its textile industry and attract more foreign manufacturers.
The textile and clothing sector already employs more than 200,000 people across more than 1,600 factories and other production units. Annual exports are worth more than 44bn dirhams.
Morocco is also close to major European markets. Goods can reach Europe from the Tanger Med port in about two to three days, while shipments from East Asia can take several weeks.
Trade agreements with the European Union, the United States and several African countries also make Morocco an attractive base for companies looking to export.
Shengtai’s factories will cover the production process from spinning yarn to making finished clothes. This could make it easier for the company to meet European rules on where products are made.
Shengtai is based in Ningbo, China. It operates textile factories in China, Vietnam and Central America and supplies brands including Ralph Lauren, Lacoste and Hugo Boss.
Fez already has workers and training centres linked to the textile industry. Skhirat has access to major roads and the industrial and logistics network between Rabat and Casablanca.
