Morocco to Benefit from Foreign Investment
Citing Morocco’s strategic geographic position in relation to Europe, Africa, and maritime trade routes, as well as its comprehensive port infrastructure, political stability, steady economic growth and low inflation level as motivating factors, foreign investment in the North African country has received a number of significant boosts recently. International companies that have set up production facilities in Morocco include automaker Renault, aircraft manufacturer Bombardier Aerospace, and power management company Eaton Corporation.
On June 16, 2014, Eaton broke ground for the construction of a $12 million electronics plant in the new industrial park near the Casablanca Mohammed V International Airport. Scheduled for completion in March 2015, the new facility will reportedly provide jobs for 500 people, with a view to extending the facility if it proves to be profitable. The factory will build circuit breakers and other telecommunications equipment for the multinational company, which has customers in more than 175 countries and employs over 100,000 people worldwide.
At the groundbreaking ceremony, Morocco’s Industry Minister, Hafid Alamy, noted that the Eaton project is part of Morocco’s strategy for attracting foreign investment to create jobs. Traditionally the majority of Moroccans work within the agricultural sector, but with an unemployment rate of almost ten percent the country is looking to foreign investors to provide opportunities to diversify. President of Eaton’s electronics sector, Frank Campbell, has been quoted as saying that Morocco has been ‘predictable and stable’ over a long period of time, going on to state that this is what investors are looking for.
Canadian-based aircraft manufacturer Bombardier Aerospace is currently investing $200 million in the construction and establishment of a transition facility in the Casablanca industrial park which is scheduled to open later this year. If all goes to plan, the new facility will provide up to 850 jobs by the year 2020. With the new facility, Bombardier aims to serve the commercial aviation market in Africa in a more cost-effective manner as the demand for air travel increases and various countries start replacing their aging airplanes.
