After Morocco’s success in the global automotive industry and attracting companies from Asia and Europe for the purpose of manufacturing and assembling vehicles, attention turned to the aviation sector.
Over the past few years, Morocco has been able to attract many international companies to invest in the aircraft industry, bringing the number today in Morocco to 142 companies operating in the aviation sector, providing about 20,000 job opportunities.
The country’s aviation sector exports exceeded 21 billion dirhams ($2.1 billion) in 2022, compared to 15 billion dirhams ($1.5 billion) in 2021, a growth of 40%.
Morocco aspires to manufacture a complete aircraft that will take off from Morocco for the first time, according to Minister of Industry and Trade Riad Mazour, especially since the country is on the list of 20 countries that manufacture aircraft parts internationally.
Last April, the Moroccan government also approved a draft decree related to aircraft design and production, according to which standards for aircraft design, production, and maintenance are determined.
The government aims to increase the pace of investment in the sector, especially with media reports about the imminent opening of the first drone factory in the country.
Aircraft industry
On January 18, Minister of Trade and Industry Riad Mazour quoted Guillaume Faury, director general of the European aircraft manufacturer Airbus, as saying that there is no plane flying in the sky for which Morocco did not manufacture one of its parts.
Abdelaziz Al-Rummani, a Moroccan economist, says that the aircraft sector in Morocco has witnessed development through stages that have contributed to the advancement and success of this sector.
He considered – in a statement to Anadolu – that the first stage was the manufacture of parts, as the country attracted more than 50 international companies, moving to another stage by manufacturing more than 45% of aircraft parts, including advanced parts.
He added, “Morocco was able to attract major companies, which raised the number of job opportunities provided by the sector to 20,000 now.”
He pointed out that more than 140 companies invest in the country, as well as areas designated for the manufacture and supply of aircraft parts, and stressed that Morocco now has the qualifications, strength and experience to move to the next stage, which is assembling a complete aircraft.
#outcome : 375.5 billion dirhams is the total revenues from industrial exports during the year 2023, which represents an increase of 33% compared to the year 2021. Here are the most important figures for industrial exports during the first half of the government’s mandate. pic.twitter.com/sp72ROgSxJ
— Ministry of Industry & Trade – Morocco (@mcinetgov_ma) May 23, 2024
Al-Rummani continued: “When we talk about the aircraft industry, it is similar to the automobile industry, as he was able to manufacture a locally made car.”
Morocco announced in mid-May 2023 the manufacture of the first local car bearing the name “New”, bringing the country into the ranks of producing countries in the sector after years of experience in installation and assembly, and attracting investments from international companies.
The Moroccan economist pointed out that his country, after this stage, decided to move to the stage of manufacturing a complete aircraft, moving to the ranks of the major countries in this field.
Making an airplane that will take off for the first time from Morocco
In this regard, Moroccan Minister of Industry and Trade Riad Mazour said that his country aspires to manufacture a complete aircraft that will take off from Morocco in a first of its kind.
Mazour added in a speech in the House of Representatives (the first chamber of Parliament), last April, that “the aviation sector has developed, and Morocco has become one of the 20 major countries that manufacture aircraft and all their components.”
He pointed out that “Morocco manufactures the most difficult components needed by the aviation sector, and there is a legitimate ambition today, to produce the first aircraft that will take off from Morocco. All its parts will be assembled in the Kingdom. This is the goal that Morocco is working to achieve.”
He continued: “In order not to mislead the Moroccans, this plane will not be 100% Moroccan, because there is no country in the world that manufactures an aircraft that belongs to it 100%, but the ambition is to manufacture an aircraft that will take off for the first time from Morocco, after its parts are assembled in the Kingdom.”
According to media reports, the country intends to launch a drone factory in the country. In order to keep pace with the significant development of this sector, the government has begun adopting new laws.
Last April, the Moroccan government approved a draft decree related to aircraft design and production, according to which standards for aircraft design, production and maintenance are determined.
The government said – in a statement – that it had approved a draft decree related to aircraft design, production and maintenance, presented by the Minister of Transport and Logistics, Mohamed Abdel Jalil.
According to the statement, the project comes in implementation of some provisions of the law related to civil aviation.
The decree aims to specify the technical specifications that must be respected by persons wishing to obtain the accreditation (license) received by the governmental authority in charge of civil aviation, in order to carry out the process of designing, producing and maintaining aircraft in Morocco, according to the same source.
It also aims to determine the conditions for accreditation of persons and companies in order to carry out the process of maintaining the seaworthiness of aircraft, as one of the activities that contribute to ensuring the safety of air navigation.
