Ahmad 
The African Development Bank has announced two loans totaling $260 million to Morocco, earmarked to finance a major industrial project and support improvements in economic governance in the country.
The first loan, worth $130 million, will be used to develop an integrated industrial zone in the Nador port, a deep-sea port under construction that is expected to have a capacity of up to 3.5 million containers.
This project is part of Morocco’s efforts to enhance its logistics and industrial capabilities, and the port is also set to host the country’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal.
The second loan will be used to support Morocco’s initiatives to strengthen governance of public institutions, improve the business climate, and prepare for external shocks and climate change.
The loans come at a time when the Moroccan economy is facing multiple challenges, with Moroccan government debt expected to rise to 70.1% of GDP this year, according to recent estimates from the Central Bank of Morocco.
Morocco’s total external debt until 2024 amounted to about 64.8 billion US dollars, a large part of which is linked to international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, and Morocco owes about 1.075 billion Special Drawing Rights (SDR) to the IMF, which is roughly equivalent to 1.5 billion US dollars.
Government debt also constitutes a large proportion of GDP, reaching about 51% of GDP according to data available until 2022.
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