Rabat – The Moroccan aeronautics sector wants to reach a MAD 26 billion turnover and create 23,000 new jobs by 2020, says the Minister of Industry, Investment, Trade and Digital Economy, Moulay Hafid Elalamy.
“We are confident that the objectives set for the aeronautics sector will be met: to create 23,000 new jobs, reach MAD 26 billion of turnover and double the rate of local integration to 35 percent by 2020,” said the minister in an interview with the Maghreb Arab Press agency (MAP).
The minister pointed out that industrials, encouraged by the dynamics of this sector, have even revised upward their targets and project an annual growth of 20 percent against an 18 percent rate set initially.
They also aim for a local integration rate of 42 percent by the end of the Industrial Acceleration Plan (IAP), Elalamy added.
In 2017, the aeronautics sector achieved a growth rate of more than 18 percent compared to 2016, due to the increase on aircraft demand reevaluated at 40,000 new aircraft by 2030, and to the greater use of manufacturers to emerging sources, due to the cost-cutting constraint imposed by the airlines.
“The assessment and the achievements accomplished confirm our vision,” Elalamy said, adding that the sector employs more than 15,000 people today.
The minister also revealed that in 2017, the aviation platform is preparing for more internationalization with the launch of the Boeing ecosystem that has helped establish the Moroccan industrial base as a preferred emerging platform for the aviation industry.
The composite activities have allowed to permanently anchor the aviation industry in Morocco, capitalizing on this technology that gradually replaces the more rigid materials currently used.
The end of the year will also be marked by the launch of engine ecosystems and composite materials, Elalamy said, stressing that the efforts deployed under the IAP have made it possible to densify the national “supply chain.”
The minister also noted that the latest rate of local integration registered is 29 percent, a gain of 12 points since the launch of the IAP, noting that the sector officials are working alongside major engine manufacturers to install set up their suppliers in Morocco, and help them cope with the acceleration of production rates.
