China’s Long March to invest in Pakistan truck tire plant

Islamabad – China’s Long March is set to "invest PKR300 billion" (€1 billion) in its joint venture tire production factory in Pakistan, according to an announcement by the Pakistani government.

The plan was unveiled during a meeting between Pakistan's prime minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif and Long March chairman in Lahore, Pakistan, said the official announcement issued 11 May.

Following the investment, Shahbaz Sharif said, Long March will be able to export tires worth $100 million dollars (€92 million) from Pakistan by 2025.

Furthermore, the project will create a thousand employment opportunities in Pakistan, said the Pakistani prime minister without offering further details.

Established in 2019, Service Long March is a joint venture 49% owned by Long March and 51% owned by local company Service Industries.

Located in Pakistan’s Sindh province, the facility is the country’s first truck & bus tire factory, and was initially set up with an investment of $250 million to produce 2.4 million truck & bus tires in three phases.

The factory was exclusively built with Long March technology and the first phase, with the capacity to produce 720,000 units, was officially inaugurated in March 2022.

Phase 2 of the project is expected to come on-stream this year, according to previous announcements by the Chaoyang local government.

Based in Chaoyang, Liaoning province, LongMarch was set up in 2003 and currently has 2.8 million units annual capacity in China, with 1,600 employees.

The truck & bus tire maker claims to be a leading tubeless tire producer in China with a portfolio covering 225 specifications in 51 sizes and 60 patterns.