Maghreb Arabe Presse (Rabat)
Nouaceur — HM King Mohammed VI, inaugurated, Monday in Nouaceur, the "Midparc" integrated industrial platform for aeronautics, and launched the building works of the first plant in Africa by Canadian aerospace company "Bombardier", which will give impetus to the national industrial strategy "Plan Emergence".
The projects give a strong signal of the sovereign's firm will to spur the competitiveness of the aeronautics sector, reinforce industrial infrastructure, and give more visibility to national and foreign investors.
The Midparc industrial platform, worth 887.6 million dirhams, is built over a surface area of 124.4 ha. It seeks to create a platform for the aeronautics industry and related activities, in-car electronics and industrial logistics and has the status of a free export zone.
The Bombardier Maroc is the first plant in Midparc to open its doors and will contribute to increasing Moroccan exports and developing the local industrial fabric. Worth 200 million dollars, the plant is expected to create 850 direct jobs and 4,400 indirect ones.
The Bombardier Maroc, to be carried out over three phases, is aimed at producing flight control equipment for its Learjet 70 and 75 business jets and CRJ jets.
The Bombardier company is thus gaining a foothold in Morocco as did other multinationals like EADS, Boeing, Souriau, SAFRAN, Zodiac Aerospace and Air France Industries, which confirms the capacity of the Kingdom to host a leading aeronautical base.
Training human resources is of paramount importance which was reflected in the inauguration by HM the King in Nouaceur of the Institute of aeronautics-related jobs (May 6, 2011) and the Specialized Institute for aeronautics-related jobs and airport logistics (September 11, 2013).
On this occasion, HM the King visited one of the intermediary workshops meant to receive enterprises and facilitate their setting up in the platform.
The inauguration of the Midparc industrial platform was marked by the signature, under the chairmanship of HM the King, of four investment agreements between the state and enterprises from the aeronautics sector and two agreements to set up an investment fund for the said sector and supply the platform with electricity.
Under the four agreements, the signatory businesses with projects related to the maintenance and manufacturing of aeronautics electrical and mechanical equipment will benefit from financial aid.
These projects, totaling over 120 million dirhams, will create 268 new direct jobs and generate a turnover of 403 million dirhams.
On the same occasion, HM the King decorated several Moroccan and foreign figures. The sovereign awarded the Alawite wissam of 2nd class of commander rank to Marc Ventre, deputy director general and chief operating officer of SAFRAN group.
HM the King also gave the Alawite wissam of 3rd class of officer rank to Thierry Février, president of ZODIAC AEROSPACE MAROC and industrial director of ZODIAC group, Bruno Cotte, CEO of SAFRAN group, and Jean-Louis Colders, CEO of LISI AEROSPACE.
The sovereign also awarded the Wissam of Moukafaa Al Wathania of 2nd class of officer rank to Ayoub Daoudi, CEO of Souriau Maroc, Zineb Merzak, chief of a Matis production unit, Raouf Moustahssine, CEO of EFOA and Abdelouahed Rahal, head of the car, aeronautics and electronics industries department at the ministry of Industry, Trade and New Technologies.
