KARACHI, Jan 6: The Afzal Motors Private Limited in a joint venture agreement with a Korean company has started assembly of trucks and buses. The company has invested Rs500 million in the project in which 250 people have, so far, been accommodated on various job categories.

The company started trial production of trucks in May 2006, but commercial production got under way from Dec 1, as 60 units have been produced, so far.

Around 30 bus chassis had also been rolled out from the plant located on main National Highway.

This was stated by director marketing and sales, Afzal Motors, Tahir Javed, at a press conference at a local hotel on Saturday. Director Mohammad Afzal Khan and GM Marketing Z A Rehani were also present.

The plant will assemble light, medium and heavy-duty commercial vehicles (prime movers, truck chasses, dump trucks, diesel and CNG buses.

The installed capacity of the plant is 6,000 units on single shift basis.

Tahir said production of buses and trucks would depend on the market demand which unfortunately remained stagnant during the last decade. Trucks and buses comprise 44 per cent and 49 per cent local parts and accessories as per government’s approved deletion programme.

He said the company had signed the bus agreement with Daewoo Bus Corporation Korea on October 2005 while the truck agreement had been signed with Tata Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Company Limited Korea.

The plant, he added, is equipped to meet the target of 3,000 CNG buses annually required for Karachi and other cities of Pakistan.

The company has also planned to export heavy vehicles to Middle East and other neighboring countries. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz will inaugurate the Daewoo Assembly Plant on Jan 8, he added.