The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank's Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) announced on Monday a partnership with Morocco's Tanger Med Port Complex. This partnership aims to expand the truck and passenger terminal of the Moroccan Strategic Hub, IFC said in a statement. IFC's deal with Tanger Med Port includes a loan of €197 million (including €47 million provided under IFC's Managed Co-Lending Portfolio Program). This loan will be «the first sustainability-linked loan in Morocco and among the first in the port sector in emerging markets globally», IFC added. Key performance indicators associated with the loan include gender diversity and renewable energy, the global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets noted. In addition to IFC, this project is backed by a group of international banks, including JP Morgan with a commercial loan of up to €203 million. «A non-honoring guarantee from MIGA will cover lenders in the commercial loan facility for a period of up to 15 years. Non-honoring of financial obligations by a state-owned enterprise coverage protects against losses resulting from a state-owned enterprise's failure to make a payment», IFC explained. The financial support will help increase the port's truck capacity to more than 1 million units. It's worth noting that in 2023, Tanger Med Port Complex handled 477,000 trucks. The project is expected to create direct jobs, stimulate economic growth, and foster greater investor confidence in Morocco's infrastructure sector, IFC stated. «This project will enable the Port Complex to significantly increase its truck handling capacity, support export growth in the agribusiness and industrial sectors, and further reinforce trade links between Morocco and Europe», said Loubna Ghaleb, Board Member and Director of Strategy at Tanger Med Group. «This is our second guarantee project in Morocco under the non-honoring product, which will be instrumental in improving the port infrastructure», said Hiroshi Matano, MIGA's Executive Vice President. «MIGA hopes to deploy its non-honoring product for other state-owned enterprises in the country to help strengthen their productivity». «This project will strengthen Morocco's position as a growing global maritime and logistics hub, ideally placed to connect key markets in Europe, Africa, and the Americas», said David Tinel, IFC's Regional Manager for the Maghreb. «We expect this project will serve to draw other investors into Morocco's infrastructure sector to capitalize on the opportunities that the country offers».
