A particularly prolific visit: Emmanuel Macron’s official trip to Morocco, on October 28 and 29, made it possible to conclude several contracts and investment agreements, the amount of which reached “more than 10 billion euros” according to the Elysée . Contracts which, among other things, give pride of place to energy.
Transportation
On the transport side, the Egis group will participate in the construction of the second section of the Tangier-Marrakech high-speed train line, the first section of which was inaugurated in 2018. Alstom will take part by negotiating the supply of 12 to 18 train sets. TGV.
The aeronautical equipment manufacturer Safran will also set up a maintenance and repair site for its flagship LEAP engine in Morocco. This 25,000 m2 workshop will be located in the Casablanca airport area and should be operational “by 2026”, according to Safran. It will be accompanied by the creation of around 600 direct jobs by 2030.
The maritime carrier CMA CGM will also join forces with Marsa Maroc to “equip and operate” half of the “Nador West Med” container terminal in northern Morocco for 25 years. CMA CGM and the Moroccan company will create a joint venture to equip 35 hectares of the container terminal as well as 750 meters of quay. Investments must amount to $280 million over 25 years.
Waste and water management and treatment
The waste treatment specialist Suez will soon build and operate with its partners Somagec and Jet Contractors the waste treatment and recovery center for the Oum Azza center, in the Rabat region. The French company was also awarded a contract for the management of the Kénitra waste treatment and recovery center, “worth 120 million euros over 20 years”. Suez has also signed an agreement with the Safari group to provide “optimization of water network management” solutions.
The French water specialist Véolia has also signed a memorandum of understanding for a seawater desalination project, presented by the group as the largest in Africa and the second largest in the world. The factory would make it possible to supply the regions of Rabat-Salé-Kénitra and Fès-Meknes.
Green energies
TotalEnergies has signed a “preliminary land reservation contract” with Morocco in order to develop a green hydrogen production project, located in the south of the country. The company is associated in this project with the Austrian electricity leader Eren, the Danish shipowner AP Møller and the investment company Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. This “Chbika” project aims to build “1 GW of solar and onshore wind capacity which will fuel the production of green hydrogen by electrolysis of desalinated seawater and its transformation into 200,000 tonnes per year of green ammonia for the market European”, explains TotalEnergies.
Engie and the Moroccan phosphate industrial group OCP have announced that they will co-develop and manage “four large-scale industrial projects”. The two companies will develop solutions for the production and storage of electricity from renewable sources “to ensure the flexibility of the OCP group’s energy network”. The project also provides for the development of a green ammonia production capacity and will “study in parallel the feasibility of producing other green hydrogen derivatives” in particular sustainable aviation fuels. Furthermore, MGH Energy and Petrom have agreed on a project for the production of synthetic fuels.
According to a document sent by the Elysée, EDF and the National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (Onee) have also concluded a partnership to “continue the development of wind energy production capacities in Morocco”. This will relate to the second phase of a wind farm project located in Taza.
The CEO of Hydrogène de France (HDF), Damien Havard, told AFP “hope to be selected” as part of a call for tenders launched by Morocco for renewable energies, the winners of which will be announced “in the next few weeks.” Its project aims to deploy 2GW of onshore wind power in Darla, in Western Sahara, and would allow “with hydrogen to manufacture e-fuels, or aerial fuels”. If selected, its first phase over five years would represent “an investment of one billion euros”, indicated the manager, followed by “a second phase of 3 billion euros and a third of 7 billion euros.
Technologies
Moroccan operator Panafsat and Thales Alenia Space have announced an agreement to provide high-speed satellite internet connection to 26 African countries. The joint venture between French Thales and Italian Leonardo will manufacture “a satellite” for the project.