Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Thursday inaugurated a new car factory in Hessya, near the city of Homs in central Syria. The carmaker Saipa's Saba production line is a result of "fruitful cooperation" between the Syrian and Iranian private sectors, and it was opened in the presence of Iran's First Vice President Parviz Davudi.
The factory, the second of its kind in Syria, will have an annual production capacity of 15,000 cars and a preliminary cost of US$ 50 million. The project, which will be governed by investment Law No. 10 and its amendments, will be carried out by the Iranian Sigico Car Company and the Syrian Hamshou Trade Company. The latter contributes 20 percent to the project. The factory will initially assemble spare parts. It is expected to move to full local manufacture of all car parts by 2008.
In March, al-Assad inaugurated the first Syrian-Iranian joint car manufacturing plant Siamco in Adra near Damascus.
Also on Thursday, Hama cement factory was inaugurated in the presence of Iranian and Syrian officials. The cement plant, a joint venture, constructed through a US$200 million investment boasts the capacity to produce 1 million tons of product annually.
