Sustainable Industrial Zones Fund: Launch of 2nd Edition Call for Projects

This call for projects is a continuation of the first edition of FONZID, which was set up jointly as part of the “Compact II” cooperation program between the Kingdom and the government of the United States of America, represented by MCC.

Worth 150 million dirhams, “FONZID II” aims to strengthen the model of sustainable industrial zones and to contribute to improving productivity and the environmental and social performance of industrial zones.

This fund will increase the supply of industrial land that meets the needs of companies in terms of decarbonization, infrastructure quality, support services and competitive prices, and will thus contribute to increasing private investment and job creation.

The said project will finance projects of creation and extension or projects of rehabilitation of existing industrial zones, according to an inclusive and sustainable model, while providing technical assistance to the project holders.

“Following the success of the 1st edition of FONZID which has experienced a strong interest of the ecosystem of industrial zones, we wish through the launch of this second edition to capitalize on the feedback to strengthen the supply of industrial land, in a logic of durability and sustainability of investments,” said on this occasion, Minister of Industry and Trade, Ryad Mezzour.

He added: “We invite project leaders to apply massively to this initiative that promotes the dynamics of transformation to a decarbonized and competitive industry”.

For her part, director general of the MCA-Morocco Agency, Malika Laasri, said she was proud to participate in the launch of this project whose first edition, which started four years ago, yielded “very good” results.

This project, she said, worth $ 120 million, secured 40% by the private sector and local authorities, has enabled the construction of nine industrial zones, considering, in this regard, that the second edition is a sign of success of the first but also the sustainability of the approach and model that has been developed under MCA Morocco.

The FONZID II call for projects, which will close on May 31, 2023, is aimed at Moroccan public entities that have among their prerogatives the development and management of industrial land projects and at private entities that may be professional organizations, industrial groups, associations and managers of industrial zones, private developers of industrial zones or any other non-profit organizations and private companies investing in the development, service provision and management of industrial zones.

The first edition of FONZID supported 9 projects with an overall investment of $80 million, including a contribution of $46 million from the project owners, and should eventually generate 57,000 job opportunities. The investment made it possible to set up a supply of serviced land, ready-to-use buildings and buildings dedicated to providing services for companies and employees (one-stop shops, business centers, catering, health services, transport, training and job search areas, day care centers), in addition to upgrading old areas.

The ceremony was attended by the ambassador of the United States of America to Morocco, Puneet Talwar, and the resident director of Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in Morocco, Carrie Monahan.