Special to WorldTribune.com

CAIRO — Morocco continues to draw dual-use Western industry.

Morocco has added to its list of major Western contractors that decided to build production facilities in the North African kingdom.

On June 16, Morocco hosted a ground-breaking ceremony for an electronics plant that could enhance the civilian and military sector.

“This is part of the kingdom’s strategy to attract foreign investment,” Moroccan Industry Minister Moulay Hafid Alamy said.

Over the last year, Morocco has attracted several Western aerospace
majors that sought to exploit cheap labor, tax breaks as well as proximity
to Europe. They included Canada’s Bombardier, which plans to build a $200
million production facility, as well as France’s Renault.

In the latest development, Eaton has launched construction of a $12 million electronics production facility in Casablanca’s Midparc Free Zone. Officials said Eaton, with an annual turnover of $22 billion, would employ at least 300 Moroccans to manufacture circuit breakers and other components for telecommunications systems.

In the first phase, Eaton plans to relocate 200 staffers from other operations in Morocco to Midparc. The company, expected to complete the facility in 2016, also operates an aeronautics division that could be expanded in the kingdom.

“Eaton joins a growing number of global businesses that are investing to
help establish Morocco as a key production center for the aerospace and
electrical industries,” Alamy said.

“Morocco’s proximity to Europe, its free trade agreements with the
European Union and skilled labor force make it the obvious choice as a
manufacturing hub to better serve the needs of its customers across the
region,” Hamid Benbrahim El Andaloussi, chief executive officer of Midparc,
said.

  Casablanca, electrical industries, Midparc Free Zone, Morocco attracting Western aerospace, Moulay Hafid Alamy