Morocco aims to create the first domestically manufactured aircraft by 2030
With the aim of further promoting national technology, Morocco is now focusing on producing an aircraft before 2030, according to the Minister of Industry and Trade, Ryad Mezzour.
As detailed by Al Sharq channel, the aviation industry is considered one of the Kingdom's most important export sectors. This industry is the base for 142 companies, while exports related to this sector amounted to 21.8 billion dirhams last year, an increase of 2.1%.
The share of the local component in the aviation sector currently stands at 40%, although the authorities are aiming for 100%, the Moroccan minister confirmed in an interview on the sidelines of the World Trade Organisation Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi.
"We are working to manufacture a complete aircraft in Morocco by 2030," Mezzour said. In recent months, the Kingdom has already unveiled the first 100% Moroccan-made car and computer.
Airbus already manufactures key parts of all its aircraft in Morocco, such as sheet metal, interior cabin parts, the metal engine casing and electrical cables. In addition, operations and testing of special equipment and lines for the assembly of aircraft parts are carried out in industrial parks in the Kingdom.
All this has led to the Kingdom being ranked 20th in the world in the aviation sector, as its companies are capable of manufacturing any aircraft part, according to Minister Mezzour.
The Kingdom began developing this promising industry some two decades ago. Now, as a result of these efforts, the North African country is home to major international companies in this field, such as Boeing, Airbus, Bombardier, Safran and SABCA.
Recently, Figeac Aéro announced the opening of an industrial unit in the city of Casablanca dedicated to producing a main part for the LEAP-1A aircraft engine module for the Airbus A320neo with an investment of approximately 13 million euros.
Mezzour said there are only five countries in the world that can manufacture this key and sensitive part of an aircraft engine. "The aviation industry is very complex and requires global skills. Whoever masters it can make anything," he added.