Operated by state-owned Saipa Car Manufacturing Company, the plant was inaugurated on Sunday in Kashan city, after a $400 million investment and one year of construction. The facility will manufacture 150,000 S-81 and Saipa 111 vehicles and will employ, according to the official estimates provided by IRNA news agency, 23,000 people.
“The Iranian nation has showed the world that it has absolutely no need for foreign assistance, be it financial or political, and that it is well able to stand on its own feet and flourish regardless of economic sanctions and political pressure,” Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying Sunday by Iranian Press TV.
Together with the plant, Ahmadinejad also pulled the wraps off the production line of Tiba, the first Iranian car entirely made and assembled in the Iran. With it, Iran plans on becoming a major car exporter in the world, while at the same time encouraging Iranians to buy locally-made vehicles.
Ahmadinejad didn't miss the opportunity to turn the inauguration of the plant into an assault on the international pressure Iran is feeling over its nuclear project.
"Some in the West have asserted Iran's advancements in their various reports and have even admitted that Iran is developing and improving its economy with a fast pace," he said.
"Some countries like to scorn others in order to strip away their self-confidence and prevent them from furthering their developments."
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