São Paulo – Last week, the government of Morocco signed an agreement with the Spanish company Ditema to establish an industrial city in the Chaouia-Ouardigha region, in the municipality of Settat. The project should receive investment of 1.1 billion dirham (US$ 120.4 million), according to information supplied by the Moroccan news agency Maghreb Arabe Presse (MAP).
Named Entreteres, the park is part of the National Pact of Industrial Emergence, released by the Moroccan government in February 2009. According to the MAP, the new industrial city should comprise beverage manufacturing and sales, and manufacturing of building materials and sanitary products.
According to the Moroccan prime minister, Abbas El Fassi, the enterprise reflects the country’s interest in promoting investment and supporting small and medium businesses. He participated in the signing of the agreement alongside the ministers of Economy and Finance, Salaheddine Mezouar, of Industry, Trade and New Technologies, Ahmed Réda Chami, and the chairman of Ditema, Ramón Arenas Guerrero.
The city will be developed in an area of 382 hectares and should generate approximately 3,200 jobs. It should attract investment of 4 billion dirham, equivalent to US$ 437 million. In the city of Settat, the park will be built in a rural community named Tamadroust, 50 kilometres away from Casablanca. Settat has roughly 100,000 inhabitants.
Ditema, which heads the project, is a company founded by Spanish businessmen to develop the industrial park in Morocco. The city will be built by Ditema Maroc S.A, established by the Spanish in Morocco to this end. A 25% share of the company’s capital will be of Moroccan origin. According to information from the Ditema website, the park will also include housing and logistics services.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
