Azernews.Az

By Rashid Shirinov

Serial assembly of Azerbaijani-Iranian cars at the automobile plant in Azerbaijan’s Neftchala Industrial Park will begin in April this year, Emin Akhundov, founder of AzerMash company, told Trend on March 11.

He noted that the opening of the plant is expected in late March 2018, and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, whose visit to Azerbaijan is scheduled for March 28, is expected to take part in the opening ceremony.

Akhundov said that production of Dena, Rana, Soren and Samand cars as well as a number of Peugeot models will be established at the plant. Its annual capacity will be about 10,000 cars.

“In the future, it is planned to deliver cars to Ukraine, Russia and Central Asia countries,” Akhundov noted, adding that currently, the negotiations are underway to establish the manufacture of spare parts at the plant.

Iran Khodro and subsidiary of AzerMash AzEuroCar LLC signed an agreement on August 6, 2016, on the establishment of a joint automobile plant in the Neftchala Industrial Park. The total cost of the project is estimated at $14.11 million. Azerbaijan invested 75 percent of the funds, while Iran invested 25 percent.

Earlier, AzEuroCar informed that the new cars will cost around $5,800-7,000 and meet Euro 5 standard. The plant intends to cooperate with the Sumgayit Industrial Park and SOCAR’s new plant.

Azerbaijan and Iran have had diplomatic relations since 1918. Political and economic ties between the two countries have increased in recent years and the two sides have made serious efforts to boost mutual ties. Azerbaijan and Iran have already prepared grounds for private sector investors in order to improve mutual cooperation. Currently, about 450 companies with Iranian capital operate in Azerbaijan.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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