Morocco’s First Aircraft Recycling Center Project Stalls: What’s Causing the Delay?

Since the launch by the National Airports Office (ONDA) of an international call for tenders, open between April 15 and June 8, 2021, for the selection of a company that would ensure, under a DBFOT contract, the design, construction, financing and operation of a storage, dismantling and recycling center for aircraft and aircraft parts, nothing has moved forward. The name of no bidding company has been revealed to date. The project is at a standstill.

The blockage of the project is linked to the availability of land, reveals Challenge. The aircraft graveyard should be built on about ten hectares, while in Morocco as in some countries, the issue of land is a reality. The kingdom ranks first in terms of dissatisfaction level compared to benchmark countries, reveals a CMC study, stating that more than 40% of Moroccan companies consider access to land as a major or very severe obstacle, compared to 9% in Romania and 7% in Turkey.

"The decrease in the reserve of state lands in urban areas is considered a factor that reduces the supply of industrial land for investment," the document points out, adding that land represents an important factor in the attractiveness of the economy. "Several countries have made land an effective instrument to attract more foreign direct investment (FDI), including China," the same source notes. Land represents in Morocco 40 to 60% of the total investment cost of an economic project, compared to 2 to 10% in Europe, it is specified.

The "Boneyard" is the largest military aircraft graveyard in the world. Located at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in the city of Tucson (Arizona), it covers nearly 10 km2. In total, 4,000 aircraft from past wars lie intact in a strange formation.