Highlights

Mr. Mohamed Benchaaboun takes part in the second meeting on (PPP), held by the (IDB)

28/02/2019
Mr. Mohamed Benchaaboun takes part in the second meeting on (PPP), held by the (IDB)

Mr. Mohamed Benchaaboun, Minister of Economy and Finance, took part, in Rabat, Tuesday, 28th February 2019, in the second forum on Public-private Partnerships (PPP), held by the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), jointly with the Ministry of Economy and Finance, under the theme : « making joint efforts for joint goals »

Mr. Mohamed Benchaaboun stated that the selection of Morocco to host this major event demonstrates Morocco’s experience in the field of PPPs. This comes at a time when the Kingdom is seriously considering a new model of development and opportunities to strengthen the involvment of the private sector in the infrastructure projects.

On the basis of the report from the United Nations’ Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) for the year 2016 on the economic development of Africa, Morocco is the second country in Africa as regards the PPP in the infrastructures sector with a total funding of 27,5 billion dollars, stressed Mr. Benchaaboun. He recalled that the Moroccan PPP dates back to the 1900’s.

The PPP is based on Morocco’s belief that this device will provide the country with high-quality infrastructures and financing, management and innovation abilities of the private sector, stressed Mr. Benchaaboun.

Focusing on the benefits of the PPP, the Minister stated that the success of these partnerships relies to a great extent on the quality of the prior preparation of the projects, rigor and transparency in approving contracts and matching citizens' needs and PP sectors regarding the services provided, in addition to the importance of optimizing expenditures, the profitability of capital and investors.

To strengthen such partnership, it’s necessary to establish a relevant and transparent institutional and organizational framework that further encourages private investors to support the country’s structuring and strategic projects, he argued.

In this respect, the law 86-12 on partnership agreements between the public and private sectors was adopted, he clarified. He also noted that this text, enacted in 2015, is today updated to improve this system and make it more attractive and flexible.

On the other hand, Mr. Bandar Hajjar, President of the IDB stated that "Morocco is a world leader in PPPs, particularly in renewable energies and green cities’ sectors". He added that the Kingdom, being positively assessed in this area, should be viewed by all people as a "model and reference to repeat its experience" in other IDB member countries.

The 2nd PPP meeting gathers an audience of internationally distinguished experts, government officials and private investors to discuss means to enhance the legal and institutional environment for PPPs, especially on the African continent.

This meeting focuses on several panel discussions on various topics related to the potential of PPPs to frame future cities, create a favourable environment for PPPs in social infrastructures (health and education) and innovate mechanisms for PPPs.