Spanish investors seek to develop biofuel production in Morocco

2007-07-13

Spanish investors are interested in investing in agro-industrial projects in Morocco aimed at producing biofuel from the Jatropha plant -- a hardy plant from South America with high oil content.

Morocco’s Minister for Energy and Mines, Mohammed Boutaleb, said Moroccan authorities are willing to provide all the facilities necessary for the future success of this project. "Spanish investors have conducted studies in various regions of

Morocco, looking for land suitable for Jatropha cultivation," he told Magharebia. "We expect them to present their suggestions over the next few days, with the aim of entering into an investment agreement with the Moroccan government."

Boutaleb went on to say that the Moroccan state is prepared to work with the Spanish investors to make the necessary land available to them, provided that the land is not agricultural, is located in semi-arid regions, and the investors agree to use water-saving agricultural techniques, such as drip-feed irrigation.

Boutaleb added that studies conducted by the Spanish investors are encouraging, as they show that biofuels will meet 2% of Morocco’s energy needs by 2012, when the Jatropha fields will have reached maturity and begun to enter the large-scale industrial production phase of biofuel.