MARRAKECH, Morocco - Electric buses from China are being used as means of transportation by participants at the 22nd Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP22).

The vice mayor of Marrakech, Ahmed Motasadiq, said that the city received some 50 buses from a Chinese bus manufacturer to serve as shuttle buses for COP22, adding that Marrakech is the first African city to use this environmental friendly means of transportation.

The buses are part of the partnership agreement signed by the Chinese bus manufacturer Yangtse, Marita Group, Energy Investment Company and Banque Centrale Populaire during King Mohammed VI's visit to China in May.

The agreement provides for the establishment of a plant to produce electric buses for Moroccan and European markets.

The $150 million investment will provide 150 buses in the first year of 2017 and 1,000 a year in the longer term, and offer jobs for some 2,000 people.