Morocco signs €270 million AfDB airport financing agreement

Morocco and the African Development Bank signed a €270 million loan agreement for the national airports office, ONDA, in Casablanca on 29 September 2026, according to the government portal’s report published the following day. The financing supports PEMIA, the airport infrastructure extension and modernisation programme, rather than an announcement that the upgraded airports are already operational. AfDB country office head Achraf Tarsim and ONDA director general Adel El Fakir signed the agreement at a ceremony chaired by Bank president Sidi Ould Tah and economy and finance minister Nadia Fettah. The programme focuses on strategic airport platforms including Marrakech, Agadir, Fez and Tangier, supporting Morocco’s tourism vision for 2030 and preparations for major international events. By 2030, the programme aims to raise passenger capacity to 14 million at Marrakech, five million at Agadir, 3.6 million at Tangier and three million at Fez. Its infrastructure component is accompanied by expanded air-navigation systems and stronger safety and security arrangements. Planned equipment includes advanced security systems, automated baggage handling and digital tools intended to improve passenger flows. The report distinguishes expected benefits over time: safer airport operations and several thousand jobs, particularly for young people and women, in the short term; stronger tourism, trade and logistics, alongside associated public and private investment, in the medium term. These are programme expectations. The Bank also places PEMIA within its Integrated Aviation Transformation Programme for Africa, which supports modernisation, financing and integration of national air-transport systems. Nexus analysis: The agreement connects airport capacity, passenger processing and logistics within one financing programme. The 2030 capacity figures provide concrete benchmarks, while the signature marks financing progress rather than completion of the works or delivery of the projected economic benefits.