Morocco’s Department of Defence and India’s Tata Group have signed an agreement to build armoured combat vehicles in the North African country.
Under the agreement, Tata Advanced Systems, a subsidiary of the Indian conglomerate, will produce Tata’s WhAP 8×8 wheeled amphibious armoured platform in Morocco.
The project is expected to create 90 direct jobs and a further 250 indirect jobs.
The local integration rate, the proportion of production that is sourced locally, will be 35 percent at first, rising to 50 percent as the project matures over its 36-month development period.
Local media in India said the production facility will be in Casablanca – Morocco’s largest city and its business centre – and is expected to be operational within 12 months.
The project is being developed initially to supply Morocco’s armed forces with the WhAP 8×8. However, it is also planned to export the vehicle to other countries in the region.
Morocco’s National Defence Administration said it intends to develop Morocco as a regional hub for the production of defence mobility equipment, and added that it will open up opportunities for investors interested in the defence and high-tech sectors.
Tata says the WhAP 8×8, India’s first amphibious infantry combat vehicle, is capable of traversing all types of terrain.
It can operate in water using hydrojets, achieving speeds of up to 10km/h. On land, it can reach speeds of 100km/h on regular roads and 40km/h off-road. Tata also says the vehicle can climb slopes of up to 30 degrees and cross trenches up to 1.8 metres wide. (Arabian Gulf)
