The Moroccan experience in Public-Private Partnership (PPP) has enabled our country to reach a new threshold of growth, as demonstrated by major structural projects, primarily financed by private partners (power production, power and water supply, sanitation, farming land management). This was a major feature in the presentation given by Mr. Abdelaziz TALBI, Director of Public Enterprises and Privatisation, in the symposium on PPP, hosted by the OECD on May 20th and 21st 2008 in Rabat.
Designed as part of the initiative of the network of top management of MENA-budget (SBO-MENA), this symposium was co-hosted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The symposium was attended by some fifty public finances experts and specialists from the MENA region, who discussed the specific PPP experiences in their respective countries. |  |
Mr. TALBI noted that Morocco has a rich experience in granting concessions stretching back to the turn of the 20th century (drinking water supply in 1914 and 1920, Tanger-Fez railway line in 1914), with a new impetus in the 1980s to delegate management of public services, notably for highways, urban transport, water supply, electricity, sanitation and waste collection.
In Morocco, operations initiated by Public Institutions and Local Authorities are subject to Bill 54-05 relating to the delegated management of public services. Such a bill is intended to rationalize and harmonize sector-specific legal texts, to ensure transparency of procedures for national and foreign private operators, as well as equal access and treatment, and to take into account the interests of users and the imperatives of public service. It is also intended to ensure equitable risk-sharing in PPP. In this regard, Mr. Talbi stressed the bills innovative provisions, such as mortgage return assets, arbitration procedures which include arbitration at the international level, and the option to sub-contract
As to PPP success stories in Morocco, Mr. Talbi gave the example of the Jorf Lasfar power plant, achieved through a 30 year concession and an investment of $ 1.5 billion. This concession has led to a notable improvement in risk-assessment for Morocco, and good conditions for servicing demand, while allowing the National Electricity Board (ONE) to focus on public service (electrification in rural areas and transport).
In telecoms, Mr. Talbi said that liberalization in this sector has had a positive impact, notably the development of investment, the emergence of new private operators (MEDITEL, WANA), and the improvement of services provided to citizens.
As to agriculture, PPP entailed the long-term lease (17 to 40 years) of farming land owned by the two companies, SODEA and SOGETA. This partnership aims to enhance the exploitation of land managed by the two companies, attract national and international private capital, contribute to the upgrading of the main farming networks (citrus fruit, vineyards, olive trees), and save and create jobs.
In the housing sector, 235 PPP conventions have been signed for an overall area of 700 hectares and the construction of 130.400 housing units, 23.700 (20%) of which are social housing units. The objective of these conventions is to channel the work of public operators towards their mission: planning and regulating the housing market, developing the capacity of Moroccan businesses, and addressing the social housing shortage and reducing production costs.
For the prospective development of PPP in Morocco, Mr. TALBI said that a study was underway to identify new PPP opportunities, in accordance with the draft-agreement signed by the DEPP and the Société Financière Internationale (SFI) on May 24th 2007, with regard to the following strategic sectors:
transport (roads, highways, urban transport), infrastructure (airports), social services (health, education), water and sanitation, as well as energy.
To move towards PPP successfully, Mr. TALBI stressed the necessity of adopting a policy at 4 levels, articulated around:
- an economic opening up strategy whereby the private sector must bear the responsibility of economic growth
- sector-specific liberalization policies with mechanisms of fair competition and transparency
- public operators capable of operating in a competitive environment or in tandem with the private sector
- The gradual transfer of expertise gained in commercial sectors to non-commercial sectors (education, health...)
DEPP