His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist Him, accompanied by HRH Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan, chaired, on Monday in Nouaceur, the presentation ceremony and launch of the construction work of the Safran Group’s “aircraft engines” industrial complex, a structuring project that bolsters Morocco’s calling as a strategic global hub for the aerospace industry.
This Complex, which will be located within the Midparc integrated industrial platform dedicated to the aerospace industry in Nouaceur, will include a factory for assembling and testing Safran Group aircraft engines and another dedicated to maintenance and repair activities for new-generation LEAP (Leading Edge Aviation Propulsion) aircraft engines.
Beyond an industrial investment, the two new benchmark, performing, innovative and sustainable sites strengthen the excellent ties and exceptional partnership between Safran and Morocco and embody the firm Will of His Majesty the King to raise the aerospace sector to higher levels of technological competitiveness.
At the outset of the ceremony, a corporate film was screened, tracing the development of the aeronautics sector, one of Morocco's global industries, in recent years, thanks to the bold reforms and structuring projects initiated by the Sovereign.
On this occasion, the minister of Industry and Trade, Ryad Mezzour, delivered an address before the Sovereign in which he affirmed that thanks to the Enlightened Vision of His Majesty the King, Morocco has established itself as a key global destination in cutting-edge sectors, adding that in less than two decades, and thanks to ambitious, successive and complementary strategies led by the Sovereign, the Kingdom has built a world-class aerospace industry.
The sector’s export revenue has significantly risen, “going from less than MAD 1 billion in 2004 to exceeding MAD 26 billion in 2024,” Mezzour indicated, stressing that the sector now gathers more than 150 stakeholders, including the world’s largest operators, and represents a genuine showcase for national industrial know-how.
Mezzour also recalled that the Safran Group, a long-standing partner of the Kingdom for 25 years, is today renewing its confidence in the Moroccan platform through the implementation of a world-class integrated complex for the assembly, testing, maintenance, and repair of aircraft engines.
Mezzour added that this involves the establishment of an aircraft engine maintenance and repair plant (MAD 1.3 billion), with a maintenance capacity of 150 engines per year, creating 600 direct jobs by 2030.
It also involves the development of an assembly and testing plant for LEAP 1-A commercial aircraft engines, which are used in particular in Airbus A320 Neo aircraft models, Mezzour said.
With an assembly capacity of 350 engines per year, this MAD 2.1 billion investment will generate 300 highly skilled jobs by 2029, he said.
As the second production site for the LEAP-1A engine worldwide, this project will firmly establish the Kingdom in the global value chain of aircraft engine manufacturers and will lead to new equipment manufacturers within the national ecosystem, the minister indicated, pointing out that the aviation industry's primary challenge is its ability to create sustainable, skilled jobs for young people.
For his part, the Chairman of Safran Group’s Board, Ross McInnes, underlined that the presence of HM the King in the ceremony is deeply meaningful for the group, noting that it not only bears witness to the Sovereign’s interest in the Kingdom’s industrial development, but also the remarkable investment environment that HM the King has always promoted through an enlightened, bold and forward-looking vision.
McInnes underlined the excellent economic and industrial ties between France and Morocco, assuring that his “Group does not produce in Morocco but with Morocco,” a country that is strategic for Safran in several fronts.
He took the opportunity to reiterate the Safran Group's determination to maintain this strong link with the Kingdom, stating that “together, we are committed to the development and economic acceleration of the Moroccan aerospace sector.”
In the same vein, Safran Group CEO Olivier Andriès assured that the decision to locate Safran's new aircraft engine industrial complex in Morocco was not accidental, emphasizing that his group had thus “chosen a country with talent, modern infrastructure, and a stable macroeconomic environment.”
“But above all, we have been guided by the trust inspired by the momentum driven by Your Majesty to turn the Kingdom into a competitive industrial platform on a global scale,” he said.
“Today these two projects and ongoing extensions in three of our other sites amount to an investment of more than €350 million and are set to generate thousands of jobs for the entire aerospace ecosystem in the Kingdom,” Andriès maintained.
Subsequently, HM King Mohammed VI, may God assist Him, chaired the signing ceremony of three agreements. The first is a protocol agreement, which formalizes the commitments of both partners, the State and the Safran Group, for the installation of the French group's aircraft engine assembly and testing plant.
It was signed by Ryad Mezzour, Karim Zidane, minister delegate to the Head of Government, in charge of Investment, Convergence and Evaluation of Public Policies, and Olivier Andriès.
The second is a memorandum of understanding on the supply of renewable energy to Safran sites.
It was signed by Abdelouafi Laftit, minister of the Interior, Ryad Mezzour, Mohamed Ouhmed, Secretary General of the Energy Transition Department, Olivier Andriès, Youssef Ettazi, CEO of the Casablanca-Settat Regional Multiservices Company, Fatima Guennouni, CEO of the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra Regional Multiservices Company, and Adil Khamis, CEO of Energie Eolienne du Maroc - Nareva.
The third agreement concerns the establishment of the Safran Group's aircraft engine assembly and testing plant at Midparc.
It was signed by Khalid Safir, CEO of Morocco’s Deposit and Management Fund, Stéphane Cueille, CEO of Safran Aircraft Engines, Marouane Abdelati, CEO of MEDZ, and Hamid Benbrahim El Andaloussi, CEO of Midparc.
Afterwards, the LEAP-1A aircraft engine was unveiled before His Majesty the King. This new-generation engine incorporates the most advanced innovations in materials and manufacturing processes.
His Majesty King Mohammed VI then posed for a souvenir photo with a group of young people training at the (IMA) in Nouaceur to join the future aircraft engine maintenance plant, before launching the construction of the Safran group's “Aircraft Engines” industrial complex.
As the world's leading manufacturer of short-haul and medium-haul aircraft engines and the third largest aerospace stakeholder worldwide outside of aircraft manufacturers, the Safran group is strengthening its presence in Morocco, where it chose to establish itself 25 years ago, thus demonstrating the rise of the Moroccan aerospace base built thanks to the enlightened Vision and leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI.
MAP: 13 October 2025
