Rabat – Moroccan company Tekcim has signed a financing agreement to build a MAD 2.6 billion ($274 million) cement plant in Ouled Ghanem in the province of El Jadida, 150km south of Casablanca.
The project will be financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB), BMCE Bank of Africa, the Banque Centrale Populaire and Societe Generale Maroc.
Tekcim has subcontracted the construction of the plant to two companies; Societe Generale des Travaux du Maroc (SGTM), a large Moroccan construction company specialized in public projects and the global engineering company FLSmidth, based in Denmark.
The plant is expected to begin operations in 2022.
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The cement plant will produce 1.4 million tons of cement per year and 1.1 million tons of clinker. The production will meet the increasing demand for housing and infrastructure projects in Morocco and across Africa, stated the ADB in a press release.
“This is an important project that will contribute to the industrial acceleration of Morocco, and to the reinforcement of its strong economic ties with the continent,” said Leila Farah Mokaddem, the AfDB representative in Morocco, at the signing ceremony.
Mokaddem added that thanks to the transport infrastructure in the region, the plant will easily be able to respond to local market needs and, beyond this, to the needs of regional markets in West Africa including Burkina Faso, Cote D’Ivoire, and Niger, reports the Maghreb Press Agency (MAP).
The project, Mokkadem said, will create jobs to benefit rural populations.
The AfDB has financed more than 160 projects in Morocco, across the water, energy, transport, agriculture, and social development sectors, to a value of over MAD 95 billion ($10 billion) over the last 50 years.
For SGTM, the financing of the project is “an important turning point”. It will allow the SGTM to continue its development in Morocco and in Africa, the president of SGTM M’Hammed Kabbaj stated.
For the deal, Tekcim was advised by banking group Ascent Capital Partners and the law firm Gide Loyrette. Allen & Overy advised the financing consortium.
