World Bank allocates $248m to support solar power sectors in Morocco

The World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved on Sunday two projects totaling US$248.95 million to support Morocco’s national health strategy and to promote clean energy and energy efficiency, according to the World Bank Website Sunday.

In the health sector, the investment will finance increased access to and improved quality of public services for the benefit of poor and rural populations in disadvantaged regions. The investment in the energy sector will support Morocco’s ongoing efforts to reduce its dependency on imported fossil fuels.

“Over four years, this US$100 million project will aim specifically to help strengthen primary care across 9 regions to address disparities in health outcomes and improve health system governance by upgrading health management information systems and sector accountability,” said Enis Baris, World Bank Health, Nutrition and Population Practice Manager for the Middle East and North Africa Region.

The second project, the Clean and Efficient Energy Project will be co-financed by a US$125 million World Bank loan and a US$23.95 million loan from the Clean Technology Fund. It will support Morocco’s State-owned electricity and water company (ONEE) to develop its first set of three mid-size decentralized solar photovoltaic (PV) plants. With a total capacity of 75 MW, the plants are part of the country’s strategy to achieve 14% of installed capacity from solar energy by 2020. The project is also expected to have important local benefits for the impoverished areas of South-Eastern Morocco where the plants will be built. The new plants will help address the voltage drops and regular outages that currently affect 120,000 people in the region.

The World Bank currently has a portfolio of 22 projects in Morocco, amounting to a committed financing of US$2.44 billion, providing a diverse range of support in areas such as private sector, financial sector and governance reform, green growth and promotion of renewable energy, access to basic services such as rural roads, water, sanitation, the reduction of vulnerability and social exclusion, and improvements in agriculture and solid waste management.