Arab fund lends Morocco KD 50m to finance Tangier port

Morocco and Kuwait-based Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD) signed two agreements with a value of some KD 50 million (USD 177 million) to finance the second phase of the port of Tangier, northern Morocco. The agreements were signed by Moroccan economy and finance minister Mohammad Bu Saeed and AFESD Director General Abdulateef Al-Hamad. Bu Saeed said the loan would boost infrastructure projects of the Tangier Mediterranean port, which would increase handling capacity from three to eight million containers every year. The minister commended the fund's contribution to development in Morocco. Al-Hamad said relations between the fund and Morocco were "excellent." He said the fund was keen on financing social and economic development projects in Morocco. The expansion of Tangier port will facilitate trade through Gibraltar Strait thus have economic and social benefits for the Moroccan people, said Al-Hamad. The fund had financed the first phase of the Tangier port in 2010.