Midparc at Near-Capacity as Aeronautics Demand Triples: Extension Under Study

Midparc,the 128-hectare aeronautical industrial park at Nouaceur near Casablanca,is approaching saturation and planning an extension,its CEO Hamid Benbrahim El Andaloussi told Le360 in a detailed interview published Sunday. The park,inaugurated by King Mohammed VI on September 30,2013,today hosts approximately thirty companies including Airbus with two factories,Safran,Pratt & Whitney,Hexcel,Eaton,Thales,and a cluster of specialised SMEs. Fifteen projects are currently under development for 2026-2027,demand is three times higher than what the park typically processes,and negotiations with the CDG and supervisory authorities on an extension are under way.

Benbrahim El Andaloussi described the current period as exceptional,combining quantitative and qualitative momentum of a kind not seen in the park’s thirteen years of operation. The immediate catalyst is Safran’s decision to locate three major operations at Midparc: a LEAP engine maintenance center,a LEAP engine assembly center covering 17 hectares,and a landing gear facility. These commitments by a tier-one global aerospace supplier are generating a cascade of sub-supplier demand that is itself multiplying the park’s capacity needs.

The park’s business model has two distinct tracks. Large companies acquire land and build their own factories under a delegated project management approach provided by Midparc SA — which handles architectural design,procurement and contractor selection throughout the construction process. For smaller sub-contractors and SMEs,Midparc constructs 1,000-square-metre factory modules on 2,000-square-metre lots,which it finances and then leases on long-term contracts,with built-in growth options allowing companies to double or quadruple their footprint as they scale. The underlying logic — co-location rather than relocation — is to make Morocco structurally competitive rather than merely fiscally attractive.

On competitiveness,Benbrahim El Andaloussi was direct: the fiscal incentive — a five-year tax exemption followed by a 20 percent rate — is less important than the fundamentals. What sustains an aerospace company’s Moroccan operation over time is talent quality,operational competitiveness,and the ability to maintain the exacting precision standards of aviation safety. These are the factors that drove Safran,and Hexcel to choose Midparc,and that have built what the CEO describes as a brand — not merely a park.

The park will achieve fully decarboned energy supply during 2026,reinforcing its environmental credentials alongside its HQE (High Environmental Quality) certification. Benbrahim El Andaloussi noted that Midparc is now a brand of excellence,unique in Europe by its model and architectural quality. Morocco’s aeronautical sector as a whole now numbers 155 companies,employs more than 27,000 people,and exports approximately three billion dollars annually — a 25-year achievement that Midparc has been at the center of since the sector’s acceleration from 2013 onward.