Safran launches €350m aircraft engine complex in Morocco

A new aircraft engine assembly and testing facility launched in Nouaceur positions Morocco among the world’s few nations capable of manufacturing complete engines.

King Mohammed VI, accompanied by Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan, chaired the presentation and launch of Safran Group’s Aircraft Engines industrial and technological complex in Nouaceur. The site will include a final assembly plant for aircraft engines, bringing Safran’s total investment in its Moroccan ecosystem to €350 million.

Situated in the Midparc Integrated Industrial Zone, the facility will assemble and test LEAP engines used on Airbus A320 Neo aircraft, as well as host a maintenance and repair unit for new-generation models. Morocco will become the second global production site for the LEAP-1A after France. By 2030, the project is expected to generate 900 direct jobs and several thousand more indirectly across the Moroccan aerospace supply chain.

Minister of Industry and Trade Ryad Mezzour says: “Thanks to the Enlightened Vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, Morocco has established itself as an essential global destination in cutting-edge sectors.” He noted that aerospace export revenues have risen from less than MAD 1 billion in 2004 to more than MAD 26 billion in 2024.

Safran Group chairman Ross McInnes says: “We do not produce in Morocco, but with Morocco,” praising the Kingdom’s stability and investment environment.

CEO Olivier Andriès adds that Casablanca was selected for “the quality of its talent, the modernity of its infrastructure, and a stable macroeconomic environment focused on innovation and sustainability.”

Three agreements were signed: a protocol between the Moroccan State and Safran defining investment commitments; a memorandum on renewable energy supply; and an implementation agreement within the Midparc hub with the Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion and MEDZ.

After 25 years in Morocco, Safran continues to expand its long-term industrial partnership with the Kingdom, supporting its vision to become a world-class technological and industrial platform linking Europe and Africa.