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Rabat – Amina Benkhadra, the General Director of Morocco’s Office of Hydrocarbons and Mining (ONHYM), has renewed the North African country’s strong interest in the gas pipeline project with Nigeria, emphasizing its potential as a mechanism to facilitate continental integration in Africa.
Benkhadra made her remarks on the sidelines of the ongoing African Investment Forum in Marrakech, stressing that the project will “enable us to move towards the African integration that needs to be developed.”
Emphasizing the importance of the project, Benkhadra said that the pipeline would contribute to accessing energy not only for the population that needs it but also for the crucial development of industrial and mining sectors.
The countries that will benefit from the pipeline have mineral resources that require energy, Benkhadra said, noting that the project is receiving special attention from King Mohammed VI.
“Morocco serves as a model in several sectors thanks to the royal vision,” she said, citing industries like phosphates and agriculture.
She also lauded Morocco’s regional leadership in the Middle East and North Africa region in developing the entire value chain for the production of batteries needed for electric vehicles, which will be crucial by 2030 and 2040.
Benkhadra’s remarks come just days after King Mohammed VI reiterated in his Green March speech the importance of the pipeline project with Nigeria.
With a vision to connect 11 countries in the region, the pipeline aims to benefit over 400 million people in West Africa.”
Recalling the challenges that countries along the Atlantic coast still face, including infrastructure, the monarch said that Morocco is intensifying cooperation with partners to address the region’s lingering development challenges. “The Morocco-Nigeria gas pipeline strategic project is part of that endeavor,” he added, saying that the project aims to promote regional integration andboost joint economic growth.
