(Ecofin Agency) - The Ivorian government announced this week it has opened a minibus assembly plant in Abidjan, the first in the country. This initiative, which aligns with the state industrialization strategy, will be piloted by the Abidjan Transport Company SOTRA with vehicle manufacturer Iveco as a technical partner.

The -Daily Ivoire- unit will produce 1,000 minibusses per year, including vehicles that can be turned into ambulances, refrigerated vans, utility vehicles for transporting materials, and other goods. Bouaké Méité, Head of SOTRA, said the project will lift 500 people out of unemployment.

As a reminder, Côte d'Ivoire officially launched the Project to improve service provision to industries (PASI-CI) in May 2021. Developed closely with the World Bank, this project, PASI-CI is a component of the government’s industrial policy. Ultimately, the project will “provide 3 deliverables on the feasibility study for the creation of the industrial development fund, the technical study for the development of the Assouba industrial zone in the department of Aboisso, and the monographic study of the existing industrial zones of San Pedro.”

Jean-Marc Gogbeu (intern)