Rabat – Morocco’s Ministry of Industry chaired the signing of 17 investment agreements relating to several sectors for a total of MAD 857 million ($93.6 million).
The signing of the areements took place on Wednesday in Rabat.
The ministry initiated eight of the agreements in the agri-food sector to realize investment projects amounting to MAD 620 million ($67.7 million).
The agreements seek to allow the creation of 1,630 new jobs and the generation of additional turnover of over MAD 914 million ($99.8 million) by 2023.
The projects concern the establishment of industrial agri-food production units, mainly in the fishing sector, the dairy industry, the confectionery-biscuit-chocolate industry, and for the processing of citrus fruits and vegetables.
The ministry also chaired the signing of four memoranda of understanding (MoU) and two agreements in the textile and leather sector with an investment of MAD 220 million ($24 million).
The investments seek to create manufacturing units for products including clothing fabric and geotextiles, cleaning products made from non-woven fabrics, and sewing thread.
The projects seek to enable the creation of 1,350 new jobs and the generation of a turnover of more than MAD 354.944 million ($38.8 million).
The ministry also announced the signing of three agreements in the industrial sectors of plastics processing, packaging, and plasticulture, and electrical and electronics, worth MAD 17 million ($1.9 million).
The agreements seek to create a manufacturing unit for domestic electrical cables, brass fittings and valves, as well as for the production of plastic caps, polyethylene pipes, and tubes and plastic products.
The projects are set to generate 99 new jobs and an additional turnover of MAD 92 million ($10.1 million).
Minister of Trade Moulay Hafid Elalamy commented on the signing, describing the set of agreements as an “important” project.
“The goal is to create jobs to avoid importing foreign currency and gain independence,” he said.
Elalamy emphasized that of the MAD 183 billion ($20 billion) that the country imports per year, “we initially identified 34 billion dirhams which are substitutable.”
The official also recalled interest in establishing a first bank of 100 projects, totaling MAD 34 billion ($3.7 billion).
