Morocco to Invest $12.3 B in Renewables by 2027
Newslooks \ Rabat Maghreb Arab Presse (MAP)
Morocco’s phosphates and fertilizer producer OCP said it will spend 130 billion dirhams ($12.3 billion) to increase fertilizer production using renewable energy by 2027, the company’s chief executive said on Saturday.
OCP will invest in solar and wind projects as it seeks to reach carbon neutrality by 2040, CEO Mostafa Terrab said during a meeting chaired by Morocco’s king, the palace said in a statement.
A statement issued by the Moroccan Royal Cabinet confirmed that His Majesty King Mohammed VI chaired on Saturday December 03, 2022 at the Royal Palace in Rabat, the presentation ceremony of the new green investment program of the OCP Group (2023-2027) and the signing of the relevant protocol agreement between the government and OCP group.
The ceremony is part of the proactive orientation promoted by His Majesty the King, for many years, in matters of transition towards green energies and low-carbon economy. The ceremony comes in the morrow of the work meeting presided over by the Sovereign, last November 22, devoted to the development of renewable energies and to the new perspectives in the field.
At the beginning of the ceremony, OCP group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Mostafa Terrab, presented before His Majesty the King the results of the group’s first investment program, subject of High Royal Guidelines in 2012, and which helped solidly anchor OCP in the fertilizers market. By trebling its fertilizer production capacity, OCP group is today positioned as one of the world’s leading producers and exporters of phosphate fertilizers.
The group relied on research and development capabilities of the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) to seize the opportunities offered by the new industrial and digital technologies and to develop an expertise in innovative technologies for balanced fertilization to take up the challenges of sustainable agriculture and food security.
Mr. Terrab then made an exposé before the Sovereign on the group’s new investment program. The program revolves around increasing the fertilizer production capacities, while committing to achieve carbon neutrality before 2040 by relying on the unique source of renewable energies as well as on the Kingdom’s progress in this field, under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist Him.
By investing in solar and wind power, the group plans to feed all its industrial facilities with green energy by 2027. The low-carbon energy will also be used to supply the new seawater desalination capacities in order to meet the group’s needs and provide the areas around OCP sites with drinking and irrigation water.
This investment will help the group, first world importer of ammonia, to eventually end reliance on these imports by also investing in renewable energy – green hydrogen – green ammonia sector, allowing the group to strongly enter the market of green fertilizer and of fertilization solutions adapted to the specific needs of different soils and crops.
This ambition will be backed by supporting programs for industrial SMEs and those operating in the sectors of energy and agriculture, hence, favoring the emergence of an innovative national ecosystem and the creation of new employment and job integration opportunities for the youth.
The new program, which will help consolidate OCP’s world position, provides for a global investment of 13 billion dollars (130 billion dirhams) over the period 2023-2027, the achievement of a local integration rate of 70%, the backing of 600 Moroccan industrial enterprises and the creation of 25000 direct and indirect jobs.
To this end, His Majesty the King presided over the signing of a protocol agreement related to this investment program between the government and OCP group, respectively represented by the Ministers of the Interior, of the Economy and Finance, of Equipment and Water, of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, of Investment, Convergence, and Assessment of Public Policies, on the one hand, and by the OCP Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, on the other.
This ceremony was attended by the Head of Government, the Advisors to His Majesty the King and members of the Government.”
