Morocco & EBRD discuss water projects & green economy

Visiting President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Odile Renaud-Basso, conferred Thursday in Rabat with Head of Moroccan Govt. Aziz Akhannouch on partnership between the bank and Morocco in various sectors.

Akhannouch hailed the EBRD’s investment and cooperation ties with Moroccan public and private institutions contributing to the country’s social and economic development.

He also voiced to hope to see the European Bank strengthening its support to the Kingdom to speed up its green economy transition, address water shortage and reduce territorial disparities through implementation of the advanced regionalization project.

For her part, Ms. Reno-Basso praised Morocco for modernizing infrastructure networks, building desalination plants, encouraging renewable energy resources and swift response to alleviate the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The EBRD chief met the same with minister of equipment Nizar Baraka. Talks focused on Morocco’s desalination program, the ports’ and water projects funded by Bank.

In 2022, the Bank stepped up its engagement in the country, investing €528 million, with record levels in the private sector and in support of Morocco’s green transition.

Morocco is a founding member of the EBRD. Since 2012, the Bank has invested more than €4 billion in Morocco through 94 projects and has three offices there, in Casablanca, Tangier and Agadir.

In support of Morocco’s transition to a low-carbon economy, the Bank had co-financed the repowering of the Koudia Al Baida wind farm in the north of the country with a senior loan of up to €44 million. This marked the first wind farm repowering project in Africa.

The Bank has also invested a MAD 1 billion issue by the City of Agadir, the capital of Morocco’s Souss-Massa region. Agadir was thus the first Moroccan city to join the EBRD Green Cities program.

Helping to unlock the economic potential of Morocco’s Oriental Region and improving regional access to infrastructure, the EBRD extended additional financing of €100 million for the construction of the Nador West Med (NWM) port. The Bank also provided a technical cooperation package worth €1 million to assess the port’s potential role in the hydrogen value chain.