Canadian firm projects $ 250 million alfa pulp plant in eastern Morocco

A Canadian firm will build a plant to produce Alfa-based pulp and other products in eastern Morocco, for an initial investment estimated at $ 250 million.

The project, to be operational in 2003, is expected to create between 500 to 1,000 stable jobs and between 5,000 to 10,000 indirect jobs. It will produce 600,000 tons of pulp destined exclusively for exportation.

The raw material, Alfa, is a wild plant that grows in dry areas and requires no special care. In Morocco, the potential ranges between 300,000 and 600,000 tons extending over more than three million hectares. Presently, alfa is used in handicraft and sometimes as animal feed.

Executives of the Canadian company SNC-Lavalin International held on Monday a work session with local authorities to study the plant location, resources and facilities available in the region and other arrangements.