Moroccan Highway Agency Faces Financial and Operational Challenges, Report Finds

This report, prepared by the parliamentary fact-finding mission on Moroccan motorways, identified irregularities in the management of the national motorway company (ADM). The document mentions an accumulated debt of around 40 billion dirhams. This debt "results in particular from the massive investments necessary for the development of motorway infrastructure, combined with operational challenges and unfavorable economic conditions," the report states.

This colossal debt limits ADM’s ability to invest in new projects, maintain the quality of its infrastructure and ensure the safety of users. The significant revenues generated by tolls, which reached 3.7 billion dirhams in 2023, have not "significantly reduced the weight of debts," the document adds, noting that the situation has "worsened" due to "the lack of financial support from the State, particularly in terms of increasing toll rates, as well as the rise in operating costs (due to inflation on fuel and construction material prices)".

In terms of human resources, the report deplores the departure of experienced executives, noting "a decrease in the number of official employees, from 550 to 440 over the past ten years, while 122 departures were recorded, including 77 senior executives." These departures "seriously affect the level of qualification and management within the company, forcing the latter to resort to foreign consulting firms to make up for this lack, without significant results being observed," the report notes, noting a tense social climate marked by repeated protest movements at toll stations, which disrupt services and harm users.

The document also notes "significant delays in the maintenance and renovation of several sections of the Moroccan motorway network," as well as in the implementation of strategic projects, and "the lack of lighting on many sections." As solutions, the report recommends "optimized debt management, improvement of working conditions and social climate, intensification of maintenance and renovation work, modernization of infrastructure, including better lighting, securing of degraded sections, development of structuring projects" and strengthening of the partnership with the National Road Safety Agency (NARSA) to "ensure the safety of users and improve the quality of motorway infrastructure in Morocco."