Morocco and the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group signed a €270 million financing agreement Tuesday in Casablanca for the country’s Airport Infrastructure Extension and Modernization Program (PEMIA), aimed at strengthening the Kingdom’s airport capacity. The agreement was signed by the AfDB’s Morocco country office head, Achraf Tarsim, and Adel El Fakir, director general of the National Airports Office (ONDA), at a ceremony chaired by AfDB Group president Sidi Ould Tah and Economy and Finance Minister Nadia Fettah.
Ould Tah said the loan supports Morocco’s ambition to modernize and expand airport capacity, particularly at strategic hubs including Marrakech, Agadir, Fez and Tangier, and forms part of the AfDB’s continental Integrated Aviation Transformation Program, which aims to help African states modernize, finance and integrate their air transport systems.
PEMIA is designed to durably strengthen the competitiveness of Moroccan air transport through infrastructure upgrades, expanded air navigation systems and reinforced security and safety measures, including next-generation security equipment, automated baggage-handling systems and digital tools to streamline the passenger experience.
By 2030, the program aims to raise airport capacity to 14 million passengers in Marrakech, five million in Agadir, 3.6 million in Tangier and three million in Fez, consolidating Morocco’s position as a regional air hub between Africa, Europe and the rest of the world.
Beyond infrastructure, officials said the program is expected to generate economic and social benefits: reinforcing airport-operations safety and creating several thousand jobs in the short term, particularly for young people and women, while supporting tourism, trade, logistics and public and private investment in air transport over the medium term.
