A NEW assembly plant for Volvo and Renault trucks is to be built in King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) in Saudi Arabia.

KAEC has signed an agreement with Zahid Tractor and Heavy Machinery Company for the purchase of a 225,000-sq-m plot for the project.

Located in KAEC’s Industrial Valley, the plant will be built over an area of 60,000 sq m and is expected to produce 4,000 trucks a year and provide 400 new jobs, according to the Saudi Gazette.

KAEC’s CEO and managing director Fahd Al Rasheed said the new project marked a “major milestone” in the growth of the city.

Amr Khashoggi, vice-president corporate affairs of Zahid Group, said his company was proud to be present in King Abdullah Economic City, which has elevated the kingdom into a “leading position among the most prominent investment areas in the region and the world”.

 Khashoggi said work on the factory’s design will be completed shortly with construction work  scheduled to start during the first quarter of 2014.