Chinese bank ICFC is expected to provide US$171 million (€149.34 million) to Moroccan company Atlantic Ciment (Anouar Invest) following the signing of a financing contract.
The funds will be used to build a major cement plant in Settat, Morocco, for which Anouar Invest has already signed an agreement with Chinese construction company
Chinese export credit insurance company Sinosure will guarantee the ICFC funds.
Negotiations are ongoing so that Moroccan banks may provide the rest of the required funding.
Works on the cement plant are set to begin in September 2017, and the cement plant is expected to be operational in April 2019 with a capacity of 2.2 million tonnes/year.