AfDB loans Morocco's Municipal Equipment Fund €100 million

The board of directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) announced on Friday that it has approved a €100 million credit line for the Municipal Equipment Fund (FEC) to finance new investment and public infrastructure projects in Morocco.

These projects, led by local authorities, are aimed at improving the quality of public services, especially in rural areas, and at developing new economic and industrial activities locally, according to an AfDB press release.

«We are pleased with this first partnership with the FEC. With our support for investment in state-of-the-art infrastructure and equipment, this operation will enable local and regional authorities to strengthen the attractiveness of their territories to support, more generally, Morocco's industrial acceleration dynamic», said AfDB director general for the North African region, Mohamed El Azizi, quoted in the release.

By mobilizing funding to back Morocco's decentralization project, this institution will help to strengthen and diversify the country's productive capacity and support growth in different sectors of the economy, noted the same source, adding that from a broader perspective, its objective is to contribute to improving the country's competitiveness, creating new employment opportunities, notably for young people and women, as well as generating significant tax revenues for the State.

Morocco is one of the Bank's founding members in 1964. It is one of the institution's main beneficiary countries, with a cumulative commitment of more than US$10 billion. This financing covers various sectors, including energy, water, transport, agriculture, the financial sector and social development.