JEDDAH, 12 December 2007 — China’s King Long is opening an assembly plant for its buses in the Middle East. “We are keen to have its location in the Kingdom, but for want of trained manpower it may have to be located in Egypt,” Dr. Hamed Mutabagani, chairman of National Trade Co. Ltd. (NTC), exclusive agent for King Long vehicles, and managing director of Jeddah Clinic Hospitals, told Arab News on Monday night.
“We hope to sign a deal for the assembly plant with King Long by February,” Mutabagani said on the sidelines of the foundation laying ceremony for a state-of-the-art showroom here. The showroom is being built on a 1,000 square meter area at the intersection of Madinah Road and Palestine Street. King Long’s new plant will export buses to all parts of the Middle East as well as Africa, he added.
Mutabagani said King Long has been manufacturing small, medium and large buses and coaches, and already 1,000 of them are in service across the Kingdom. “They are mostly being used for transport of pilgrims to Makkah and Madinah. Demand for these buses will increase further with the Kingdom’s plans to entrust school transport needs to the private sector,” he said, adding that the establishment of King Abdullah Economic City at Rabigh, near Jeddah, and other new cities across the Kingdom will also create additional demand for such buses.
The NTC has been King Long’s agent since 2002 and has been importing the Chinese made buses annually.
NTC has established a bus service center at Al-Bahra, near Jeddah.
There is also an ongoing scholarship program for Saudis to study in China and also for acquiring training at the Fujian-based King Long factory.
Chiang Shih-Huang, president of Xiamen King Long United Automotive Industry Co. Ltd., said his country enjoyed the status of being the largest bus and coach manufacturing center and King Long had emerged as a leading brand the world over.