Loan No: | 512 | Interest Rate: | 4.5 % |
Beneficiary: | Société Nationale des Autoroutes du Maroc | Grace Period: | 5 years |
Project Cost: | KD 298.4 million | Maturity: | 22 years |
Amount of Loan: | KD 30.0 million | Repayment: | 35 semi-annual installments |
Date of Board Approval: | - | First Installment: | 5 years following the first disbursement |
Date of Loan Agreement: | 2007-03-16 | Date of Loan Effectiveness: | 2007-11-07 |
Objectives:
The project aims at improving land transportation services on the road network to accommodate the rapidly growing road traffic and reduce traffic accidents. This project also contributes to the economic and social development of the north eastern regions of Morocco, and it links Arab Maghreb countries, as it is part of the Arab Maghreb Union Motorway.
Description:
The project comprises the construction of the motorway between Fes and Oujda. The total length of this motorway is approximately 328 km, and is divided into two main sections. The first section is Fes-Taza with a length of about 127 km, and the second section is Taza-Oujda with a length of about 201 km. The project, which is expected to be completed by the end of the third quarter of 2010, consists of the following elements:
- Motorway Construction: This includes civil works related to the construction of the motorway, drainage works, construction of over-passes and under-passes, as well as construction of main bridges over the valleys.
- Ancillary Works: This includes traffic lights and other safety equipment, maintenance workshops, toll stations, and related equipment. It also includes extending and restoring the services affected by the project such as water pipelines, telephone and electricity lines, in addition to building fences along the sides of the road.
- Project Management: This includes setting up a project implementation unit to manage the project execution, to providing consultancy services to assist in project supervision and implementation of the technical aspects of the project, as well as obtaining the services of specialized quality control laboratories.
Financing:The Arab Fund’s loan covers about 10.1% of the total project cost. The Kuwait Fund, the Islamic Bank, the European Investment Bank, the OPEC Fund, and the Abu Dhabi Fund will provide additional funding in the amounts of KD 15.0 million, KD 34.6 million, KD 67.7 million, KD 7.2 million, and KD 7.2 million, respectively . The borrower, Société Nationale des Autoroutes du Maroc, and the Moroccan Government will cover the remaining cost and any additional cost that might arise.