Rabat – Morocco’s investment committee has approved 68 draft agreements and amendments to investment agreements for MAD 57.65 billion.
The investment committee held a meeting chaired by Head of Government Saad Eddine El Othmani on Tuesday, October 23, in Rabat.
Morocco’s Minister of Industry Moulay Hafid Elalamy said in a press briefing after the meeting that the agreements will generate 9,266 direct jobs, Maghreb Arab Press (Map) reported.
The committee approved the agreements in two separate meetings, 48 agreements on January 10 and 20 agreements on Tuesday, Elalamy added.
Elalamy gave details about the sectors the government will invest in and the forecasted job positions.
The industrial sector will receive MAD 21.55 billion, transport and infrastructure MAD 10.91 billion, energy sector MAD 7.79 billion, and tourism MAD 5.98 billion.
Elalamy predicts the industrial and tourism projects will create 2,850 jobs each, fishing and agri-food industry 2,038 jobs, and telecommunications 607 jobs.
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Laayoune region receives lion’s share
The Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra region in Western Sahara took the lion’s share of the investment projects at 30 percent, with a total of MAD 17.18 billion, said Elalamy.
The Rabat-Sale-Kenitra region received MAD 8.14 billion (14 percent) while the Casablanca-Settat region received MAD 8.07 billion (14 percent). The remaining MAD 11.95 billion (20 percent) of investment projects will be spread to some or all of the nine other regions.
Elalamy believes that the new allocation will allow a “gradual” establishment of investment equity between the 12 administrative regions.
Elalamy expects the investment projects will generate 2,815 direct jobs (30 percent) in Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra, 2,178 jobs in Rabat-Sale-Kenitra (23 percent), 2,052 jobs in (22 percent) in Casablanca-Settat, and 920 jobs (9 percent) in Marrakech-Safi.
Elalamy explained that the state capital in the approved investment projects totaled MAD 36.29 billion (63 percent) while joint-ventures will fund 29 percent of the investment projects.
In 2017 the committee approved a total of 51 draft agreements and amendments to the investment agreements, for a total amount of MAD 67 billion, which the government predicted would generate 6,777 direct jobs.
Driss Jettou, head of the Court of Auditors, said Tuesday in Parliament, that public investments in 2017 amounted to MAD 188.3 billion, including an MAD 66.8 billion state contribution, an MAD 106 billion contribution by public companies and institutions, and an MAD 15.5 billion contribution by territorial communes.
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Minister of Economy and Finance Mohamed Benchaaboun said Tuesday in a press conference, “The 2019 Finance Bill aims to stimulate a new dynamic in the investment and support business, through a set of measures and initiatives to consolidate ‘confidence’ of business and promote investment.”
Benchaaboun indicated that “public investment is intended to be the ‘locomotive’ of the private sector since the 2019 Finance Bill allocated an overall budget of MAD 195 billion for public investment.”
