The world-class facility would be set up at M-3 Industrial City in Faisalabad, which is located Pakistan's largest Special Economic Zone, said press release.

"Al-Futtaim is fully committed to Pakistani market and to this project," said Colin Cordery, Senior Managing Director of Al-Futtaim Automotive International.

Colin Cordery said Al-Futtaim with Renault Group had completed the land acquisition, which is an important milestone to the project.

The company believed that this is the optimal location for the manufacturing and assembly plant, and look forward to working with Faisalabad Industrial Estate Development and Management Company (FIEDMC).

This project will bring significant foreign direct investment to Pakistan, and also create many direct and indirect jobs.

Fabrice Cambolive, SVP, Chairman of Africa, Middle-East India Region of Renault said the land acquisition in Faisalabad is an important step in our project with Al-Futtaim Automotive to bring the Renault vehicles to the Pakistani customers.

The design and pre-engineering work of the project is well underway, and on-site activities will commence shortly. The formal launch of the facility construction will be in last three months of 2018.

Once construction work is completed, the state-of-the-art assembly plant will have a total installed capacity of over 50,000 units per annum. Al-Futtaim and Renault expect that the factory will commence production in 2020, Cambolive said.

The next key milestone for the Al-Futtaim Renault Pakistan project will be the establishment of a dealership network across the country, which reflects both Al-Futtaim and Renault brand values.