The Facility for Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Partnership (FEMIP) is to open an office in Rabat, so consolidating its relations with Morocco. The new office will help to forge links with the kingdom’s private sector – a key prerequisite for Morocco’s development.
Mr. Philippe de Fontaine Vive and Mr. Fassi Fihri, Minister attached to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, have signed the headquarters agreement paving the way for the opening of a FEMIP representative office in Morocco in 2005.
The opening of this office and the decision to hold the next meeting of FEMIP’s Ministerial Committee in Morocco in June next year are a reflection of the increased volume of FEMIP financing in the country. The volume of loans to be signed in 2004 runs to EUR 241 million, up by 31% compared to 2003. Of this amount, loans totalling EUR 191 million were signed for social housing, development of priority electricity infrastructure and environmental protection.
The finance contracts for these loans were signed in Rabat by Mr. de Fontaine Vive, EIB Vice-President in charge of FEMIP, Mr. Nakkouch, Managing Director of Office National de l'Electricitי (ONE) and Mr Filali, Managing Director of Al Omrane, an organisation responsible for social housing.
The loans signed in Rabat related to the following projects:
* EUR 71 million has been granted to Holding d’Amenagement Al Omrane (Al Omrane), a development company specialising in urban areas earmarked for social housing construction.
This project represents a first for the European Investment Bank in the social housing sector outside the Union. It will help to improve the living conditions of Moroccan households by financing primary infrastructure in residential districts suffering from a lack of basic amenities and in new urban development areas. Through this loan to Al Omrane, FEMIP will help to eliminate shantytowns, upgrade slum areas and alleviate the social housing shortage in Morocco.
The project comes under the "Cities without Slums" programme, which aims to build 100 000 low-cost dwellings a year.
* EUR 80 million has been provided to Office National de l'Electricite (ONE) to construct a wind farm with a generating capacity of 140 MW to be located in the north of the country between Tangiers and Tetouan. The project will contribute to developing the potential of Morocco’s renewable energy resources and produce electricity for supply to the public grid, thus helping to meet rising power demand. With the development of priority electricity infrastructure and environmental protection among FEMIP’s goals, this operation is in synergy with the cooperation policy of other lenders such as KfW Entwicklungsbank, which is co-financing the project.
Construction of the wind farm will begin in 2005, with completion of the works and a fully operational site scheduled for 2007 at the latest. The project will comply with the relevant national and Community environmental provisions.
Morocco’s wind energy sector has started to experience growth thanks to its reliable wind resources. At present, only just over 1% of the country’s total primary energy supply comes from renewable sources (Tיtouan - Koudia al Baida wind farm, also FEMIP-financed in 1996 and up-and-running since 2001). However, this share is set to increase to 10% over the coming years owing to the development of a substantial number of large wind farms such as the one in Tangiers.
* EUR 40 million has also been advanced to ONE for investment to improve the technical performance and extend the service life of the Mohammיdia power plant 25 km north of Casablanca, which has a total installed capacity of 600 MW. This project will have a positive environmental impact by significantly reducing solid waste production and flue gas emissions. It will thus help to improve the environment in the Casablanca region, the country’s largest urban and economic centre. Accordingly, the loan will carry an interest subsidy from the EU budget. (menareport.com)
