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Rabat – Morocco’s Ministry of Tourism has announced the launch of a digital platform aiming to provide financial support to businesses in the tourism sector that were affected by the deadly September 8 earthquake in Al-Haouz.
The platform allows businesses to submit requests for financial support. To date, 667 requests from companies have been evaluated.
Financial support can reach MAD 2 million ($197,000) for businesses that were hardest hit by the earthquake and MAD 500,000 ($49,000) for businesses with minor damages, converging reports indicate.
The initiative is part of the country’s ambitious post-earthquake reconstruction plan. Less than one week following the tragedy that had claimed nearly 2,900 lives, King Mohammed VI announced that the country is set to invest $11.7 billion across five years to reconstruct the six provinces that were hardest hit by the earthquake.
The plan also covers projects aiming to boost socio-economic development in said regions.
Approximately 30% of these funds are dedicated to immediate relief efforts, including emergency aid, housing reconstruction, infrastructure repairs, and the restoration of health and education facilities that were affected by the disaster.
Financing for the reconstruction plan will come from a combination of on-budget spending by the government and a MAD 2 billion ($195 million) contribution from the state-run Hassan II Fund for economic and social development.
Following the earthquake, Morocco is now facing the challenges of rebuilding over 2,900 villages and providing assistance to 2.8 million people.
To support the funding of the plan, the government has established a fund that collects donations from citizens and local businesses. As of September, the fund raised over MAD 10 billion or over $900 million.
Read Also: Fitch: International Aid, Remittances ‘May’ Ease Morocco’s Earthquake Fiscal Strain
