The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group has approved a Euro 120 million loan to finance the Nador West Med Port Activity Zone Development Project (PAZAP-NWM), the Bank release said in a press release.
This project aims to promote value chains, particularly export chains, in order to support Morocco in transforming its economic model, improve the business climate and generate major investments that will stimulate the social and economic development of the Oriental region.
The project will eventually create more than 30,000 jobs, boosting the volume of trade and other related activities in the Oriental region, particularly the province of Nador, adds the same source.
The NWD industrial port complex is part of Morocco’s port strategy. By 2030, this sectoral vision aims to strengthen the integration of the port system into the regional transport network, consolidate the competitiveness of the entire port logistics chain to create local value and jobs, and thus accelerate the economic and social development of the Oriental region.
In 2015, the AfDB approved initial financing of 112.8 Mln euros to contribute to the NWM construction project.
Seven years later, in 2022, this first project benefited from additional financing of 57 Mln euros, in response to the economic effects of the health crisis it suffered.
With a view to integrated development, the Bank also approved 200 Mln euros in financing for the construction of the Guercif-Nador highway in 2023, to boost the attractiveness and competitiveness of logistics in the Oriental region.
The purpose of this funding is to assist connect the prospective port of Nador West Med to Morocco’s road network. Together with the new 120 Mln euro project to enhance the port’s business park, the Bank’s overall commitment to this integrated multimodal initiative will be nearly 490 Mln euro.