Announcement of Morocco Receives Twenty-Five Million US Dollars for Hotel Development on June 1, 1976

eWorldBank 1818 H · Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A. " Telephone: (202} 393-6360 BANK NEWS RELEASE NO. 76/73 JUNE 1, 1976 MOROCCO RECEIVES $25 MILLION FOR HOTEL DEVELOPMENT The development of Morocco's tourism sector will be supported by a $25 million loan, approved today by the World Bank. The loan, made to the Credit lmmobilier et Hotelier (CIH), will provide the foreign exchange resour- ces to finance the import component of most hotel development projects to be undertaken in Morocco through mid-1978. Tourism plays an important role in Morocco's economic development, it is the second most important source of foreign exchange to the economy (after phosphates exports). Located within easy reach by car, boat and air- plane from European tourist generating ~ountries, Morocco offers attractive beaches along its extensive Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts, architectural monuments of its four imperial cities of Marrakesh, Fez, Meknes and Rabat and the unique ambiance of its pre-Saharan oases . • Hotel construction is financed through the CIH, a government con- trolled development finance company specializing in housing and hotel lending. CIH provided financing of up to 60% of investment cost of most new hotel proj- ects since 1960. The Bank will provide technical assistance to improve the country's development policies in the tourist sector. Bank financing in the Moroccan tourist sector started in 1966. CIH's tourism projects expected to be approved in 1976-1979 include 45 new hotels and six hotel extensions. These arc expected to add a total of 16,583 beds to the country's current accommodation capacity, which is about 42,000 beds at present. CIH's loans to hotel investors are generally made for 17 to 20 years, including a grace period of up to 5 years. The Bank loan to Credit lmmobilier et Hotelier (159, Avenue Hassan I I, Casablanca, Morocco) is with the guarantee of the Government of Morocco. The Bank loan will be repayable substantially in conformity with the aggregate of the amortization schedules for subloans for which withdrawals from the loan account are approved; it will bear an interest of 8t% per annum . • NOTE: Money figures are expressed in U.S. dollar equivalents.