Rabat – Will Fez have its own aeronautic industrial zone? According to head of government Saad Eddine El Otmani, this dream might become reality sooner than expected.
During a meeting with elected officials, economic operators and the representatives of civil society of the Fes-Meknes region, El Otmani said that the government “is currently reflecting on the subject in collaboration with the Ministries of Industry, Investment, Finance as well as Education and the officials of the region.”
The head of government added that the land destined for the implementation of this project is already available, expressing his wish to see this first of its kind project in the region come to fruition, in addition to an aeronautical training school.
READ ALSO: Morocco’s Aeronautics Sector to Create 23,000 New Jobs by 2020
“All the parties concerned by this project will work together to make it come true, and convince investors for its importance and urgency,” El Othmani stated.
The head of the Moroccan Executive further stressed the need to provide economic incentives to attract investors to certain regions, adding that such objective requires continuous efforts.
In recent years, Morocco has been making significant strides in the aeronautic sector, one of the most demanding branches of industry in terms of investment, knowledge and especially technological mastery.
The establishment in Morocco of several heavyweights of this sector such as Bombardier, Eads, Boeing, Safran and others, confirms the leading place of Morocco on the world map of the aerospace industry.
In 2017, exports of the Moroccan aviation industry reached over MAD 9.78 billion against 8.42 billion a year earlier, an increase of 16.3 percent, according to the foreign exchange office .
To significantly increase its value added and improve its integration rate set at 17 percent in 2015, Morocco launched in November 2017 two new ecosystems in this sector (engines and composites) to complement and strengthen those installed in 2015 as part of the implementation of the Industry Acceleration Plan.
By 2020, these industrial ecosystems are expected to create 23,000 jobs, increase export turnover to MAD 16 billion, raise the local integration rate to 35 percent and attract more than 100 new operators.
