Morocco, AfDB Seal Three Financing Deals for €344.7 Mln

 Morocco and the African Development Bank (AfDB) concluded, here on Thursday, three financing deals for a total worth of €344.7 million, designed to implement support programs to strengthen economic governance and resilience against climate change, boost drinking water production and improve its performance, and develop the Nador West Med port industrial activity zone.

The first loan agreement, signed by Minister of Economy and Finance, Nadia Fettah, and AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina, is worth €120 million.

It is intended to finance the Economic Governance and Resilience to Climate Change Support Program, which will enable major economic and sectoral governance reforms to be carried out.

The second agreement, worth €104.7 million, was signed by the Director General of the National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE), Tarik Hamane, the AfDB Vice President for Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery, Nnenna Nwabufo, and the Director of Tamwilcom, Hicham Serghini.

This agreement is intended to implement the Drinking Water Digitization, Production Enhancement and Performance Improvement Project. It will help secure drinking water production, improve technical performance in several regions and urban areas of Morocco, and support the digitization of processes.

The third agreement, worth €120 million, was signed by Nador West Med General Manager, Jamal Benjelloun, AfDB Director General for North Africa, Mohamed El Azizi, and Tamwilcom Director, Hicham Serghini.

The loan is due to support the Nador West Med port industrial zone development project. It will strengthen and diversify Morocco’s port infrastructure, by consolidating its role as an industrial logistics hub in the western Mediterranean, while promoting economic and social development in the Oriental region.

This agreement will also enable the development of economic areas and industrial and logistics units within the port.

Speaking on the occasion, Fettah stressed the importance of the strategic partnership with the AfDB, highlighting the Kingdom’s commitment to the major challenges facing the African continent.

“The AfDB values this collaboration and sees it as an exemplary model for all the continent’s countries,” she said.

She added that this financing reflects Morocco’s credibility and is part of a development momentum covering several strategic sectors, mainly water.

The AfDB has operated in Morocco for over fifty years, in the key sectors of health, human development, water, agriculture, energy, transport and finance.