IFC lends OCP 100 mln euros to build four solar plants

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), an offshoot of the World Bank, agreed to lend Morocco’s phosphates and fertilizers giant OCP 100 million euros to fund the building of four solar plants, the two parties said.

The agreement was announced during the International Monetary Fund-World Bank Group Spring Meetings in Washington DC.

The green loan will help OCP forge ahead with its strategy to reach carbon neutrality by 2040 and fully rely on renewables for the industrial production of fertilizers.

The four plants will have a combined peak capacity of 202 megawatts and will be located in Khouribga and Benguerir, OCP said in a statement.

“Securing this loan is a testimony to the partnership we are building with IFC and the alignment of our institutions addressing the global challenges of food security and climate change simultaneously,” said OCP CEO Mostafa Terrab.

In 2021, IFC provided OCP with a $100 million loan to support its subsidiary, OCP Africa, to increase the availability of fertilizers and improve training on practices on local soils and crops in Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, and Tanzania. IFC also assisted OCP to obtain EDGE (Economic Dividends for Gender Equality) certification for gender equality in 2022.