Morocco Unveils $26 Billion Public Investment Plan to Boost Post-COVID Economy

Morocco plans "to mobilize public investment of 245 billion dirhams, a record figure, crucial to restart the economy," said the Minister of Economy and Finance, Nadia Fettah Alaoui, during a press conference on the 2022 Finance Bill (PLF).

On Monday, she presented the first PLF 2022 of the Aziz Akhannouch government to Parliament, which projects an acceleration of growth to 5.2% in 2021, before a slowdown to 3.2% in 2022, reports the AFP. The IMF is more optimistic. It forecasts a growth rate of 5.7% for Morocco in 2021. If the kingdom reaches this growth rate, its economy will be the most dynamic in the Maghreb (+3.4% for Algeria and +3% for Tunisia). In 2020, the country had faced its worst recession (-7%) in a quarter of a century due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

On the social side - announced priority of the new government resulting from the September legislative elections -, the PLF aims to create 250,000 direct jobs over the next two years, the minister said. According to recent estimates by the central bank, the unemployment rate in Morocco has risen to nearly 13%. The new government will breathe new life into the "Intelaka" program and launch "Forsa" for 1.25 billion dirhams, inject 9 billion dirhams into the health sector, including 5 billion dirhams for infrastructure, and increase the education budget by 480 million euros.

The PLF also aims to reduce the budget deficit from 6.2% of GDP this year to 5.9% in 2022. "Our priority is to strengthen the social state in the health, education and employment sectors, and to make progress on the project to universalize social protection," Nadia Fettah stressed.