DAMASCUS, May 15 (Reuters) - Syria has signed a deal with an Egyptian firm to set up a plant in Syria to assemble mini buses manufactured by Japanese truck maker Isuzu , officials said on Thursday.
A Syrian public sector body, the General Establishment for Engineering Industries, will own 40 percent of the $4 million plant while private Egyptian firm al-Wahab Group will own the rest.
The plant, Syria's first transportation vehicles assembly line, would produce about 600 30-seat mini-buses per year, the chairman of the Egyptian firm Abdul-Wahab al-Ghareeb told Reuters.
Ghareeb said the project was expected to start production on January 1, 2004, and would provide at least 150 jobs for Syrian workers. About 10 percent of the staff will come from Isuzu.
The group is currently producing 600 vehicles per year at its plant in Egypt, he said, noting that the company aimed to produce 16-seat and 48-seat vehicles.
Ghareeb said his company planned to manufacture certain components locally.