In 2017, aeronautical exports exceeded $1.2 billion and jobs increased by 50 percent.
Morocco’s Minister of Industry Moulay Hafid Elalamy gave the impressive figures at a press conference on Wednesday.
The press conference was held during the kick-off of the 6th International Marrakech Air Show.
In just a decade, the show has become a platform for more than 300 exhibitors to feature their aerospace products.
Running until October 27, the 2018 Marrakech Air Show will gather experts from more than 80 countries to see 100 featured aircraft. Nearly 50,000 visitors are expected to attend the airshow.
Elalamy said that the industry “is fast moving forward,” recalling the plants of renowned international aircraft manufacturers, Boeing, Airbus, and Bombardier, in Morocco.
“100 percent of Boeing wiring, for example, was manufactured in Morocco,” the minister said. He added that nearly 135 equipment manufacturers have units in Morocco.
Elalamy commented that the air show has also attracted some major companies.
“The Marrakech Air Show 2018 is once again an opportunity for global aeronautics players to share their visions and understand the sector’s evolution.”
Montreal-based Bombardier, the world’s third-largest aerospace and transportation manufacturer, built a manufacturing facility in Morocco in 2014.
Boeing also has a joint venture with France’s Safran in Casablanca to build aerospace parts, such as wire bundles and harnesses, for aircraft makers like Boeing and Airbus.
He added that the show is an opportunity to showcase Morocco’s aeronautics development.
On Wednesday, the US embassy acknowledged Morocco’s aeronautics achievements.
“Aerospace is now the largest sector in Morocco’s economy. That’s why the Marrakech Air Show is growing every year, and why the USA is proud to have been part of this tradition since it began in 2008,” the embassy tweeted.
The show is co-organized by the Ministry of Industry, Royal Air Forces (FAR), the National Office of Airports (ONDA) and the Group of Moroccan Aeronautical and Space Industries.
