South African President Jacob Zuma on Thursday unveiled a vehicle assembly plant investments made by a Chinese entity.

The plant, located in the COEGA Industrial Development Zone at the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro in Port Elizabeth, the Eastern Cape province, is funded jointly by China's First Automotive Works (FAW) Group Corporation and the China-Africa Development Fund.

The investment of 600 million rand (about $57 million) into the economy will create much needed jobs and promote an improvement in the lives of many people in this area, Zuma said at the launch ceremony.

The plant will initially assemble 5,000 trucks annually for the Sub-Saharan African market, where FAW plans to entrench itself as a leader in the local commercial vehicle market amongst the manufacturers and importers of Chinese-origin vehicles.

This project is part of South African government's interventions in manufacturing as an important pillar of the economy and is expected to help further attract foreign investor confidence in South Africa.