Announcement of Seven Million Ten Thousand US Dollars IFC Moroccan Investment Supports Second Cement Project on June 22, 1977

Intemationa1 Finance Corporation • 1818 H Street. N.W Washington, D.C 20433, U.SA 202-393-6360 IFC Press Release No. 77/20 Wednesday, June 22, 1977 $7.1 Million IFC Moroccan Investment Supports Second Cement Project The International Finance Corporation (IFC), an affiliate of the World Bank, will help finance a second cement project in Morocco by joining Moroccan and international interests in establishi.ng an approximately $61. 7 million, 625,000 metric tons-a-year cement plant at Temara, about lOmiles south of Rabat. The IFC investment is being made in Asment de Temara S.A. and consists of $2.11 million in equity, $4.76 million in loan and a $220,000 contingent • commitment. The project is sponsored by Societe Nouvelle des Conduit~s d'Eau, a majority private Moroccan ce~ent pipes manufacturer which IFC became associ- ated with when it invested in Marrakech Cement last year. The sponsor and a group of Moroccan and international institutions· and individual investors are subscribing to approximately $19 million in equity for the project. These include: the Arab Investment Company of Saudi Arabia and the Banque Islamique de Developpement, two international finance organiza- tions; Caisse de Depot et de Gestion, a Moroccan Government investment insti- tution; Banque Nationale pour le Developpement Economique (BNDE), a ~redom- inantly private Moroccan development finance company; and other investors. A BNDE loan of approximately $11.1 million, local bank loans of some $2.7 million and $22.1 million in supplters' credits complete the project financing. The project is being carr:led out with the technical assistance of Ciments Lafarge of France and the Fulle~ Company of the United States, two important cement sector companies. The plant will create some 200 jobs and is expected to begin commercial operations early in 1978. Production, to be marketed mainly in the ·Rabat area, will help meet growing demand in Morocco at and is expected to generate foreign exchange savings averaging $20 million a year. (Any inquiries strictly relating to IFC's participation in this project should be directed to the IFC Information Office, 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, Telephone (202) 477-6247.)