Thiès: Iran's Detroit? Or Detroit's future?

In a swing through Dakar on his five-county friendship tour, Iran's President Ahmadinejad reiterated his country's support for Senegal's nascent auto industry in Thiès. The Iranians now promise to set up a tractor production factory in Senegal in the near future. Iran's automobile manufacturer, Iran Khodro Company, is partner in the SenIran factory, making the Samand sedan designed by Khodro. "With completion of the factory in Senegal, this country can export its cars to other regional countries," Ahmadinejad said.

I thought the Thiès plant was fully operational. Maybe not. The Wall Street Journal's recent article reported that the Iranian-Senegal joint venture was having trouble getting cars built. But maybe manufacturing still needs to be constructed.

According to Fars News Agency, Iran Khodro is the largest carmaker in the Middle East, Central Asia and North Africa regions with annual production of more than one million various vehicles including cars, trucks and buses.

Meanwhile... Apparently the Chinese will see if they can do better than the Indians when it comes to making Senbuses. Remember that Tata, the Indian manufacturing giant, also set up a factory in Thiès to build 500 "Senbuses," public conveyance intended to replace the colorful vehicles that served Dakar for so long, and are sure to be missed.

So now King Long, a Chinese outfit, subsidized with a $25 million loan from the Chinese government, has taken over the Tata operation, still in "partnership" with the Senegalese.

"I want to make Thiès the industrial capital of Senegal,” Senegal's President Wade decreed recently during a ceremony there for the new partnership.

Alas, an industrial infrastructure takes more than a government decree. And Senegal has not shown that it has whatever it takes yet. We'll see if the new Chinese-Senegal venture does better than the Iranian-Senegal venture or the Indian-Senegal venture... Maybe what it takes is the entrepreneurial, techno-savy capitalistic hussle that can only be found, where else: Detroit where are you? It's not like you have anything better going on back home.