World Bank launches 200-mln-USD program to increase investment capacity in Morocco's Casablanca

RABAT, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank launched on Monday a project worth 200 million U.S. dollars to improve the investment capacity of Morocco's largest city of Casablanca.

The launching ceremony of the program, known as "Casablanca Municipal Support Program," was chaired by Marie Francoise Marie-Nelly, World Bank's country director for the Maghreb and Malta, Middle East and North Africa.

The loan will help fund the Greater Casablanca Development Plan 2015-2020, which will need some 500 million dollars and aims to boost the city's investment and economic competitiveness.

The objective of the World Bank's support program is to increase the city's investment capacity by improving Casablanca's revenue management systems, and attracting private investment in urban infrastructure and services through public-private partnerships.

The program will also support reforms aiming to promote an environment conducive to business development by automating business procedures, increasing administrative transparency and reducing delays to obtain authorizations such as building permits and business licenses.

Casablanca hosts around 12 percent of Morocco's total population and contribute to 20 percent of the national GDP. Enditem