This article was automatically translated from HIBAPRESS, the Arabic version:
Hibapress
The cumulative commitments of the African Development Bank (BAD) since the start of its operations in Morocco in 1978, today have reached $ 15 billion, said the group’s group for Morocco, Achraf Tarsim.
This commitment made it possible to finance more than 150 projects and programs, said Tarsim in an interview with the MAP, on the sidelines of the annual BAD assemblies which are held until May 30 in Abidjan.
“More than two billion euros have been mobilized in favor of Morocco in the past three years,” he said, noting that this envelope, which has made it possible to support an integrated development approach, has covered key sectors such as human and social development, industry, financial sector, water and sanitation, energy, transport, territorial development and agriculture.
To further support the development dynamics of the kingdom and strengthen its attractiveness and competitiveness, a new roadmap has been defined through the country strategy 2024-2029, recalled Mr. Tarsim.
This roadmap traces the prospects of the partnership around two priority axes, namely the strengthening of inclusive growth by the development of skills, employability and entrepreneurship, and the consolidation of resilience in the face of exogenous shocks through the development of sustainable infrastructure, he detailed.
To this end, the manager has returned to several projects that the AfDB has supported several major projects, such as the Noor Ouarzazate solar complex, one of the largest in the world, or the port of Nador West Med, a strategic hub of regional maritime trade.
“The bank has thus contributed to the modernization of transport and energy infrastructure, thus strengthening the competitiveness of the kingdom internationally,” he said.
According to Mr. Tarsim, the bank’s interventions have also contributed to the acceleration of the industrialization of the kingdom and the improvement of local connectivity thanks to investment in road, rail, air and port networks, which are essential in the context of preparations to accommodate, in the best conditions, the 2030 World Cup.
Another sector of strategic intervention is that of water and sanitation, he added, noting that faced with the persistence of drought, a consequence of climate change, the BAD supported large-scale operations, such as seawater desalination.
“To date, our overall contribution to the water sector exceeds 1.5 billion euros,” said Tarsim, noting that beyond infrastructure, the bank is increasingly involved in the social sectors (health, social protection, education and vocational training).
And to conclude: “These projects, these commitments, these successes testify to the solidity, the depth of the partnership that we have been building, for more than fifty years, with Morocco”.
