The African Development Bank (AfDB) has lent Morocco 151.4 million euros to finance a thermo-solar power station project in Aïn Beni Mathar in eastern Morocco.
The loan, to be paid in 20 years, including a 5-year grace period, was granted to the state-owned National Electricity Board, a Moroccan official said in Rabat on Monday.
The project is to increase the capacity of the power station from 250 megawatts to 450-470 megawatts.
With this loan, the AfDB has contributed 287.8 million euros to the implementation of the project whose overall cost is 452 million euros. The National Electricity Board would contribute nearly 100 million euros while the Global Environment Fund would also give 36.6 million euros.
The project is aimed at diversifying energy sources, securing Morocco’s supply in electric energy and meeting the growing demand in energy to support the country ‘s economic growth.
The loan agreement was signed on Monday in Rabat by the Moroccan Economy and Finance Minister, Salaheddine Mezouar, the vice-president (Finance) of the AfDB Group, Thierry De Longuemar and Director-General of the National Electricity Board, Younes Maamar.
The ADB has financed several projects in Morocco whose overall cost stands at 4.8 billion euros. Panapress.
