Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

Morocco gets $200m loan from EU for quake recovery

By Pramod Kumar
A mother and daughter leave their destroyed house in Amizmiz, Morocco. The EU is to increase its total earthquake aid to €1bn SOPA Images Limited/Alamy Live via Reuters
A mother and daughter leave their destroyed house in Amizmiz, Morocco. The EU is to increase its total earthquake aid to €1bn

The European Union (EU) will provide a €190 million ($200 million) loan for reconstructing and rehabilitating earthquake-hit areas in Morocco.

The funding will prioritise rebuilding homes, restoring essential public services such as healthcare and education, and reviving local economies, Morocco World News reported.

The earthquake, which struck in September 2023, was the strongest in Morocco’s history, registering a magnitude of 6.8. It caused nearly 3,000 fatalities and left over 6,000 people injured.

The EU will increase its total earthquake reconstruction aid to Morocco to €1 billion, EU commissioner for neighbourhood and enlargement Oliver Varhelyi told a press conference.

This month, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development approved a €200 million loan to Morocco’s phosphate-based fertiliser producer OCP Group to enhance water security by developing new desalination facilities.

In September, the country’s central bank said that Morocco’s economic growth is projected to slow to 2.8 percent in 2024 due to a 7 percent contraction in the agricultural sector.

Latest articles

Umm Al Qura is the latest in a series of companies to list shares on the Saudi exchange this year

Umm Al Qura to list on Saudi bourse next week

Shares of Umm Al Qura for Development and Construction (Umm Al Qura), the developer of Masar, a massive mixed-use project in the holy city of Mecca, will start trading on the Saudi stock exchange next week. The stock will be subject to a daily and static price fluctuation limit of plus or minus 30 percent and […]

Boy, Child, Male

Cairo bank EFG to list its buy-now, pay-later unit

Egypt’s EFG Holding will list its buy-now, pay-later subsidiary on the Egyptian stock exchange as part of a restructuring process, the bank has announced. As part of the restructuring plan, the Cairo-listed investment bank intends to pay its 2024 profit by distributing a 20.5 percent stake in U Consumer Finance, known by its brand name, […]

Sand dunes under water in Merzouga, Morocco. Increased output on both irrigated and non-irrigated land will help improve Morocco's import bill

Relief for Moroccan agriculture after heavy rainfall

Morocco has reported so much rainfall this year that it is filling dams across the country to levels not seen in at least three years.  That augurs well for the agricultural sector which accounts for about one-sixth of the economy and is a component of exports and therefore foreign exchange. The economy declined last year […]

Senior ADQ and EPC executives signing the agreement to jointly build power generation and energy infrastructure

ADQ and ECP of the US bet on data centre projects

Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ has formed a partnership with Energy Capital Partners, a US private equity company, to build power generation and energy infrastructure, primarily in the US. The goal of the prospective $25 billion, 50-50 tie-up is to support growing energy demand by data centres, large cloud providers, and other so-called hyperscalers – […]

The AI Infrastructure Partnership has plans to raise up to $50 billion

More US companies join UAE-backed AI project

Nvidia and Elon Musk’s xAI have joined a consortium backed by Microsoft, UAE investment fund MGX and BlackRock to expand artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure in the US, the companies said on Wednesday, as a global race to dominate the nascent technology intensifies. The group, formed last year with a goal to initially invest more than $30 billion in AI-related projects, is one of the biggest efforts to bankroll data centres and energy facilities […]

City, Architecture, Building

Kuwait’s Action Real Estate enters US hospitality sector

Kuwait’s Action Real Estate Company and Malta-based Corinthia Group have acquired two boutique hotels in a prime location in the US with a 100 rooms, the companies said in a statement. The acquisition of Maison 140 and the nearby Mosaic Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, by the Action-Corinthia joint venture is part of a broader […]

Cognite makes software to improve the operation of industrial installations, such as oil and gas platforms

Aramco-backed Cognite taps India in AI growth move

Saudi Aramco-backed industrial software company Cognite has opened an AI services centre in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru and said it is exploring potential contracts with top conglomerates in the country. The Norwegian company said it had signed up with a large industrial cement company and a major automotive company but declined to provide […]

A bar of gold at Swiss refiner Metalor. US gold futures gained 0.7 percent to reach $3,061

Gold climbs to record high as Fed signals rate cuts in 2025

Gold soared to a record high on Thursday, as the US Federal Reserve hinted at a possible easing of interest rates by half a percentage point by the end of the year. The news further fostered bullion’s appeal amid ongoing geopolitical and economic woes. Spot gold rose 0.2 percent to $3,052.92 an ounce as of 00:30 […]

Shoppers at Kuwait City's central souq. Debt reforms approved by the cabinet will help fund Kuwait's diversification plans

High hopes for Kuwait reforms lift its stock market

Kuwait’s stock market is the Gulf’s top performer this year as local and foreign investors bet that economic reforms and increased infrastructure spending will bolster corporate profits. Investors seem more confident Kuwait will make good on its long-awaited plans following the suspension of parliament last May. Parliament and the government were often at loggerheads, derailing […]

The harbour at Cherchell, Algeria, the site of a planned deep-water port

Algeria cancels deep-water port project with China

Algeria has officially shelved a $3 billion project to build what could have been one of Africa’s largest ports, nine years after a group of Chinese and Algerian companies signed an initial agreement, Ports Europe reported. The Algerian authorities, China State Construction Engineering Corporation and the China Harbour Engineering Company, signed an initial agreement in […]

İmamoğlu arrest in Turkey

Istanbul mayor’s arrest sends Turkish markets crashing

Markets in Turkey were thrown into turmoil on Wednesday after the arrest of Ekrem İmamoğlu, a leading political opposition figure, with the stock exchange, lira and bonds all recording sharp losses. İmamoğlu, the mayor of Istanbul, was expected to be named on Sunday as the Republican People’s Party candidate for Turkey’s next presidential election. He […]

The proposed deal for the 450MW portfolio will further expand Masdar's operations in Spain

Masdar in talks on $200m solar power deal in Spain

Abu Dhabi renewable energy company Masdar is nearing a deal that would see it pay around $200 million for a 49.9 percent stake in a solar portfolio controlled by Spanish power utility Endesa, according to two sources familiar with the deal and a document seen by Reuters. The deal for the roughly 450-megawatt portfolio builds […]