Ethiopia and Morocco have sealed a deal to build the second largest integrated phosphate fertilizer factory in the world at a cost of 3.7 billion USD, 2.4 billion USD in its first phase of development while the second phase is projected to consume over 1.3 billion USD.
The Moroccans investment is the single largest investment they have ever made outside their country.
The planned investment will be developed in a joint venture scheme between the Ethiopian government and OCP Group. The plant will be erected at Dire Dawa Industrial Park.
The two countries have agreed to contribute 40 percent equity while 60 percent of the investment is expected to come from different sources of finance.
The planned investment is expected to create over 1,200 job opportunities during its construction phase while creating 500 plus permanent jobs when it goes operational by 2022.
The factory will be built over 100 hectares and is expected to produce 1.5 million tons of fertilizer.
The establishment of the plant is expected to boost Ethiopia’s agricultural productivity by at least 40 percent since the planned plant will produce customized fertilizer that fits in to the needs of Ethiopian soil type. That will be enhanced by Agricultural Transformation Agency’s soil fertility mapping.
The National Soil Mapping Project that has been conducted by the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency has been set to be completed by the next Ethiopian New Year. The two togther will increase Ethiopia's crop productivity. The country produced 265 million quintals of crop last harvesting season. That figure is expected to grow by at least 18 percent this Meher season, ethiopia's main harvesting season which bags more than 90 percent of the country's crop harvest.
Chief Executive Officer of Agricultural Transformation Agency, Khalid Bomba, told Walta Information Center at the sideline of the official signing ceremony of the second biggest phosphate fertilizer factory in the World last Saturday at the Ethiopian National Palace, that the soil mapping project that has been launched in 2012 is about to be wrap up in less than a year.
According to the CEO, the soil mapping work in Amhara, Tigray, SNNP, Gambella, Benishangul Gumuz, and Harari regional states have been completed while that of the Ormiya, Afar and Somali Regional States is in the pipeline.
The completion of the soil mapping work is meant an increment in productivity of Ethiopian Agriculture since the country is determined to produce customized fertilizer in order to provide the lacking soil nutrient in every agricultural pocket area of the country.
Such an approach to agricultural development is expected to increase Ethiopia’s crop production which is projected to reach about 320 million quintal this yiear by at least 40 percent.
The establishment of the plant in Ethiopia expected to reduce Ethiopia’s dependence on imported fertilizer apart from easing the hard currency burden the country has been facing due competing needs for it.
Ethiopia’s fertilizer import bill is expected to reach 1.5 billion dollar by 2022 when the plant becomes operational. By then, the new plant will provide 80 percent of the country’s fertilizer needs while that figure is planned to reach 100 percent by 2025, said the CEO and Charmin of OCP Group, Mostafa Terrab, while briefing delegates last Saturday at the Ethiopian National Place.
This agreement reflects the shared vision between the two countries to enhance the south-south cooperation which is rooted at the continent’s vision to harness its natural resource endowments to develop and share prosperity among its population of almost a billion.
The two countries sealed the deal last saterday following the wrap up of two day state visit by Moroccan King, Mohamed Vl, to Ethiopia. This is the first time a Moroccan leader visited Addis Ababa since 1984, following Morocco’s withdrawal from the Organization of African Unity.
Along with the king a number high ranking Royal officials and 30 plus investors have been to Ethiopia.
Apart from inking the fertilizer factory deal, the two counties have signed 12 memorandum of understanding in the area investment promotion and protection, avoidance of double taxation and prevention of tax evasion, agriculture, promotion of trade, economic cooperation, bilateral air service, water management and irrigation, hotel and tourism, and scientific, technical and culture cooperation.
A joint meeting of Ethiopian and Moroccan business people was also held in a bid to explore business and investment opportunity between the two countries.
Ethiopia has recently opened its embassy in Morocco. It also supported Morocco’s request to return to African Union before the next AU Summit.
Morocco withdrew from the African Union in 1984 (then the Organization of African Unity), when its members accepted the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) as an official member.
Ethiopia’s call
President Mulatu Teshome (PhD) has called on Moroccan King, Mohamed Vl, to invest in the hotel industry Ethiopia, Walta Information Center has learnt.
The president who has met the king while he was here in Ethiopia on two day state visit to the country has briefed the Moroccan high Royal Officials and 30 plus investors about the investment opportunity in the country.
According to information obtained from the president office, the president has called on the king to invest on a six star and above hotel that can complement the acclaim of the royal family and that of the country.
The president accorded high level of importance to visiting delegation by underlining the fact that the visit has opened a new chapter in the bilateral relation of the two counties.
The delegates who asked about sectors which is open to foreign has been briefed about Ethiopia’s investment sectors and the privileges attached with every investment sectors.
The President briefed the delegates that they can engage in almost all investment types except finance and telecom.
The King on his part said that the relation between the two sisterly counties is exemplary.
Ethiopia’s Offer
Before the Moroccan king had arrived in Addis Ababa last friday for his first official visit to the country, the Ethiopian government offered the Moroccan business delegation a plot of land to build an industrial park in Ethiopia according to the Reporter.
Director General of the Ethiopian Investment Commission, Fitsum Arega, presented investment opportunities for the Moroccan delegation whereby they were offered a potential area for the construction of Moroccan Industrial Park.
The Director General also briefed the delegates that the government will provide them other support, facility and incentives if they would engage in building the park.
Fitsum also briefed investors on the opportunities the country presents in the light of manufacturing sector including Leather and Leather Products, Textile and Clothing, Metals and Engineering, and Meat and Milk Processing.
Apart from that, the director also told the delegation that Ethiopia is also a leading country in investment in the energy sector on the continent.
Meriem Benasalah, President of Moroccan Chamber of Commerce, on his part, shared the Moroccan experience whereby he called on Ethiopians to engage in investment opportunities in Morocco as well.
Particularly, he briefed Ethiopian business on Housing, Industrialization, Tourism, Energy, Mining and Agro Processing, business areas where the Moroccans have had success in past decade.
OCP
OCP is owned by Moroccan government with 95 percent equity while 5 percent goes to a private bank according to sources in the company. It owns the largest phosphate deposits in the world.
OCP is an established corporation which together with its affiliate namely OCP AFRICA constitutes OCP Group, a world phosphate leader in the phosphate industry.
With almost a century of experience, OCP Group is a leader in the phosphate rock and derivate markets. OCP provides a wide range of well-adapted fertilizer products to enhance soil, increase agricultural yields, and help feeding the planet in a sustainable and affordable way.
Headquartered in Casablanca, OCP works in partnership with more than 160 customers over 5 continents. Read more here
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