Morocco is entering a new phase in its public-private partnership (PPP) journey. While it has traditionally focused on renewable energy and water projects, the country is now actively seeking advisors to explore PPP models in sectors such as railways, education, agriculture, and prisons. 📈💼🌱
With support from the African Development Fund (AfDB), Morocco’s National Public-Private Partnership Commission (NCPPP) has issued terms of reference for consultancy services, with bids due by 25 September. This move signals an ambitious push to broaden the nation’s infrastructure pipeline while leveraging private sector innovation and capital. 📋📊🤝
New Sectors, New Challenges 🏗️⚖️🔍
Although Morocco has successful experience in power and desalination PPPs, sectors like education and penitentiary infrastructure bring a different risk and revenue profile. These are typically availability-based PPPs with long-term government payments tied to performance. This model requires robust financial modelling to account for contingent liabilities, lifecycle costs, and social impact metrics. 🧮📉📌
In these sectors, demand-side risks are lower, but political, operational, and reputational risks are higher. Advisors will need to help Morocco design contracts that balance these factors while ensuring bankability. 📑🛠️🏛️
Project Pipeline Highlights 📊
Several projects are already in the pre-assessment phase:
- New railway connection: Oued Zem to Beni Mellal in Khouribga Province.
- Education infrastructure: A new campus for Cadi Ayyad University in Marrakech.
- Prisons: Expansion and rehabilitation of existing facilities and development of new penitentiary complexes.
- Desalination PPPs: Tangier and Essaouira facilities will follow the successful Sidi Rahal plant, a EUR 613 million project led by an Acciona consortium. This wind-powered desalination plant produces 250 million m³/year for drinking and 50 million m³/year for agriculture.
- Urban infrastructure: New parking structures, modern housing, and an international trade fair centre.
Financial Modelling: The Backbone of Feasibility 📉📊🧩
In this next phase, financial modellers will play a critical role:
- Costing & Forecasting: Understanding CAPEX and OPEX over a 20–30-year horizon.
- Revenue Design: Where applicable (e.g. parking), balancing user fees with affordability.
- Government Payment Mechanisms: Designing availability-based payment structures with performance KPIs.
- Risk Sharing: Modelling outcomes under demand shortfalls, construction delays, or policy changes.
- Contingent Liabilities: Estimating and disclosing fiscal risks to ensure transparency.
For those interested in developing PPPs across infrastructure and social sectors, we recommend exploring this financial model: PPP Financial Model on Eloquens 📊💻📎
Strategic Questions Going Forward ❓📌🧠
- Will user fees be used in sectors like higher education, or will full public payments apply?
- How will ESG metrics be embedded in performance monitoring?
- What incentive structures will attract credible private sector interest while safeguarding public interest?
- Can lessons from the Sidi Rahal PPP be scaled across sectors?
Why This Matters 🌍🌐🚀
With Africa’s infrastructure gap widening and fiscal space tightening, Morocco’s PPP expansion provides a model for other nations to watch. The focus on pre-assessment and structured procurement increases the likelihood of successful implementation. Moreover, Morocco’s growing PPP portfolio could become a magnet for impact investors, infrastructure funds, and international developers. 💰🌱🏗️
This is a defining moment for Morocco’s infrastructure agenda—and an open call to advisors, financiers, and developers to shape the next chapter. 🧭📞📄
Finteam 