Mr. Salaheddine MEZOUAR, Minister of Economy and Finance, presided over the signing ceremony of loan and guarantee agreements with the African Development Bank (ADB), to finance the 2nd phase of the support programme for the basic medical cover reform (PARCOUM II), the 10th drinking water supply project (10th DWS), as well as of the donation agreement regarding the technical assistance provided to the Ministry of Health to set up a geographic information system (GIS) and a health map.
The ceremony was attended notably by Mrs. Yasmina BADDOU, Health Minister, Mrs. Amina BENKHADRA, Minister of Energy, Mining, Water and the Environment, and Mr. Ali FASSI FIHRI, Director General of the National Drinking Water Office (ONEP).
With regard to the 2nd phase of the support programme for the basic medical cover reform (PARCOUM II), the loan agreement for an amount of ? 70 million was signed by Mr. Salaheddine MEZOUAR and Mr. J.S. MATONDO-FUNDANI, Resident Representative of the ADB office in Morocco.
The aim of the programme is to improve access to quality health care by extending basic medical cover to all sections of the population, and especially to those economically disadvantaged.
Alongside this loan, the donation agreement, pertaining to a donation of around ?585,000 and allocated from the ADB Technical Assistance Fund for intermediate-income countries, was signed. The project will help set up a geographic information system and a health map for the Health Ministry, by designing and implementing a new approach to planning health care provision across Morocco, using a health map as the basis for the implementation of the draft-project for health care provision.
Mr. Salaheddine MEZOUAR and Mr. J.S. MATONDO-FUNDANI, Resident Representative of the ADB office in Morocco also signed the guarantee agreement relating to a loan of around ?75.7 million granted to the Drinking Water Board (ONEP) to finance the 10th drinking water supply project.
The project partaking of the Drinking Water Board programme for the 2008-2010 period, is designed to improve the drinking water supply, and to secure and upgrade the existing infrastructure in five cities: Khenifra, Taounate, Tamesna (Rabat), Casablanca, Settat and Marrakech. The project aims to secure the drinking water supply to these cities until 2030.
During the ceremony, Mr. MEZOUAR stressed the importance of the cooperation between Morocco and the ADB, with this institution providing on-going support to development in Morocco by making a financial contribution to extensive reform programmes and investment projects in the key sectors of our economy.
Mr. MEZOUAR expressed his thanks to the ADB for the support it continues to provide to reform programmes and investment projects initiated by Morocco.
Since its first contribution in Morocco in 1970, the ADB has financed around one hundred projects for an overall amount of approximately $ 6.6 billion, Morocco being ranked first among countries benefiting from the bank`s contributions. The ADB is today one of the main lenders to Morocco. The ADB contributions have up to now gone to a wide range of projects in transport, finance, farming, water and sanitation, energy, health and education, industry, communication, as well as structural and sector-based reforms.