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Rabat – In a statement published by Sabca yesterday, the company said that the two companies hope to create a “major and independent regional player in Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul and upgrade (MRO&U) for military aircraft.”
The agreement came during the state visit of Princess Astrid of Belgium, who is leading a large delegation to explore investment opportunities in Morocco.
After the working visit, Belgian companies will sign agreements with Morocco in several fields.
Sabca CEO Thibault Jongen said that Morocco “quickly became a natural choice to install this new base.”
Sabca also has a subsidiary in Morocco. Jongen said the company’s experience “gained through the development of our subsidiary Sabca Maroc is very positive.”
He added that the workforce “is highly skilled, the government encourages the industrial development and both our countries want to strengthen their cooperation.”
Since 2012, the company has produced assemblies for Airbus and Dassault Aviation planes.
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Explaining the company’s mission in aircraft maintenance, the statement said that it “has strong ties with Morocco,” recalling cooperation with the Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF).
“We are therefore looking forward to writing a new chapter to our cooperation with Morocco together with Sabena Aerospace.”
The two companies are also satisfied with the partnership they signed.
According to the CEO of Sabena Aerospace, Stephane Burton, the company has had “strong ties” with Moroccan aviation experts, including Morocco’s carrier Royal Air Maroc, for several decades.
The statement added that “like the partnership between the Belgium Defense and the Belgian industry, this combined offer from two major players in military maintenance will allow the RMAF to develop a long term strategic partnership with a Moroccan industrial player.”
The partnership will also “optimize operational availability of their fleet and strengthen the Moroccan aeronautic expertise.”
In the past decade, Morocco has become a growing hub in the field of aeronautics. The sector is expected to continue to grow 20 percent annually in the next five years.
Morocco also attracted several aeronautics companies, including Boeing, which 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.
Montreal-based Bombardier, the world’s third-largest aerospace and transportation manufacturer, also built a manufacturing facility in Morocco in 2014.
