Mohammed VI Launches Construction Works of Africa’s First Aircraft Engine Assembly Ecosystem as Safran Group Invests €350 Million

King Mohammed VI, accompanied by Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan, chaired in Nouaceur the presentation and launch ceremony of Safran Group’s “Aircraft Engines” industrial and technological complex in Morocco. The complex will notably include a final assembly plant for aircraft engines. This strategic project brings the total value of the Group’s investments in its new industrial ecosystem to €350 million and places the country among the very limited number of nations manufacturing aircraft engines.

Located within the Midparc Integrated Industrial Zone, this next-generation complex will comprise a plant for the assembly and testing of LEAP engines, which notably power Airbus A320 Neo aircraft, as well as a maintenance and repair unit for new-generation engines. Morocco will become the second global production site for the LEAP-1A engine, after France. The project is expected to generate 900 qualified direct jobs by 2030, in addition to several thousand indirect jobs across the Moroccan aeronautics value chain.

According to the Minister of Industry and Trade, Ryad Mezzour, “Thanks to the Enlightened Vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, Morocco has established itself as an essential global destination in cutting-edge sectors. In less than two decades, and through ambitious and complementary strategies led by the Sovereign, the Kingdom has built a world-class aerospace industry.” The sector’s export revenues have risen from less than MAD 1 billion in 2004 to more than MAD 26 billion in 2024, he noted.

With this new complex, Morocco joins the select group of nations capable of assembling aircraft engines. This strategic positioning of the Kingdom illustrates its industrial upgrading and the lasting consolidation of its technological base.

“We do not produce in Morocco, but with Morocco,” declared Ross McInnes, Chairman of Safran GrouBoard, praising the Kingdom’s stability and investment environment.

According to Olivier Andriès, Safran Group CEO, the choice of Casablanca is explained by “the quality of its talent, the modernity of its infrastructure, and a stable macroeconomic environment focused on innovation and sustainability.”

Three agreements were signed during the ceremony: a protocol agreement between the Moroccan State and Safran defining investment commitments; a memorandum of understanding on supplying the site with renewable energy; and an implementation agreement within the Midparc industrial hub, in partnership with the Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion and MEDZ.

Present in Morocco for 25 years, Safran thus strengthens a strategic and long-term industrial partnership with the Kingdom. For Morocco, this project reflects His Majesty King Mohammed VI’s ambition to make the country a world-class technological and industrial platform, at the crossroads of Europe and Africa, combining stability, competence, and innovation.

Beyond aerospace, Morocco continues to establish itself as a major industrial base in the Mediterranean, producing 700,000 vehicles in 2024 and recording €6 billion in textile exports.