The favorable wind blowing for structuring projects will gain momentum for the year 2025. A blessed year for public companies and the private sector. This is good since these are the key players who create jobs and wealth.
The moment was historic. In November 2018, in a lyrical flight, Emmanuel Macron raved to the Sovereign about the development prospects offered by the inauguration of the first Tangier/Casa TGV line. A first in Africa. Returning to the kingdom for a state visit in October 2024, the French President, who did not hide his admiration for the success of this structuring project that he had the historic opportunity to launch, was already inquiring about the continuation of the program. The ambitions of the kingdom have been deployed, with the high-speed line on track which should link Kenitra to Marrakech, which will have to overcome many stages in 2025. The extension of the existing LGV between Tangier and Kenitra to Marrakech , aiming to propel Morocco’s railway network into the top ten of the most modern and efficient networks in the world. The year 2024 therefore ends with a strong acceleration of structuring projects. In a country where we consider that economic growth is not an abstract concept, but the source of more tax revenue, and therefore the possibility of financing employment assistance, social assistance, climate transition or even defense, the choice to have focused on such major projects, has the advantage of launching the economic machine for many years.
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Because, these investments which are sometimes the fruit of the alliance between the private and the public like the mega project of Noor Midelt, one of the largest solar projects in the world already operational in its first part (Noor 1), has just launch the call for tenders procedure for Noor II and Noor III which has whetted the appetites of heavyweights in the sector such as the Saudi Acwa Power Compagnie, the Spanish Cobra and the French giant Vinci. Undoubtedly bringing together all the qualities of a structuring project whose “purpose is to contribute to the attractiveness of the territory in terms of jobs and image”, due not only to the importance of the planned investments and the spin-offs economic likely to be generated in the territory (direct or induced jobs, but also spin-offs through the expected consequences on the development and redevelopment of specific infrastructures in terms of access to energy). Without forgetting the requirements desired by companies when setting up in a given economic activity zone. In this vast program, there are as many strategic projects that deal with environmental issues, while in other projects, the choice to develop a key sector to serve as a development locomotive clearly appears as the choice to further enrich the fleet airline which aims to boost tourism while creating thousands of jobs. With the assumed choice of placing the largest order for aircraft in its history on the national airline, RAM, which intends to increase its fleet from 52 aircraft currently to 200 by 2037, had launched a call for tenders. international last spring for a firm order for 188 aircraft. In this virtuous circle, the kingdom, which intends to also benefit from this boost to the aeronautical companies which have a storefront in Casablanca, is based on the conviction that Morocco already sits in first place among the first three most advanced countries in the world. Africa in this sector, when the needs for qualified personnel foresee the recruitment of more than 16,000 technicians in the next 20 years.
This confirms the remarkable resilience of this industry, with major operations such as the acquisition of Bombardier by Spirit Aerosystems, or the inauguration of a new LPF production site for reactor parts.
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The coming year will also see the rise of structuring projects with an international scope. The consolidation of the place of the essential port platform of Tanger Med, but above all the prospects that the new port of Dakhla Atlantique will open up. This new port, scheduled to open in 2028, will allow the kingdom to play a major role as a gateway to Africa and a hub for trade between all continents. The fact that the public authorities have also put in place an entire ecosystem which will make it possible to attract industrialists and investments with high added value, will give Morocco in general and this region in particular, a role of economic pivot supposed to link Europe to Africa but at the same time, will provoke the qualification of human resources, through the establishment of factories, health infrastructures, education, without forgetting the units created to valorize resources and African raw materials which are already on foot work with investments that will make it possible to import raw materials from certain countries, such as bauxite from Guinea, essential for the manufacture of aluminum. Despite differences between regions, these strategically important investments are an essential part of all economic policy programs. All these strategically important operations play an important role in making the kingdom more competitive, greener, more connected, more social and thus closer to its citizens. That said, the challenges are still colossal, social questions including those of employment arise even more intensely and there is an urgent need to provide concrete answers to these problems.
Now that the driving forces of the nation have given themselves the word to work together around key issues, such as economic stability through this powerful lever of development that are structuring projects, the reorientation of the economic model towards ecological growth through investment and innovation; the initiation of shock therapy to stop the infernal spiral of unemployment would perhaps have great virtue:
that of restoring meaning to political action which is nourished by a royal vision which concerns the long term. The Head of State has the privilege of outlining a vision and the government of putting this vision to music with methodological approaches, which feed off each other, sourced by theoretical models and empirical analyses.
In any case, the Sovereign, who cherishes the hope of restoring the kingdom’s place in the world, is well on the way to succeeding in his bet.
