Morocco’s Minister of Equipment and Water Nizar Baraka, along with the Minister Delegate in charge of the Budget Fouzi Lekjaa, announced today an initiative aimed at securing Morocco’s technological sovereignty over its infrastructure in the face of rapid technological advancements.
The program involves the establishment of a technological complex and a comprehensive training ecosystem, with the aim of achieving “strategic autonomy” and full mastery of technical skills in key sectors, including water, construction, road infrastructure, ports, and meteorology, indicated the ministry in a press release.
Baraka highlighted his ministry’s extensive experience in implementing road, port, and hydraulic infrastructure projects, as well as its proficiency in meteorology.
However, he acknowledged the rapidly evolving technological landscape, the need to adapt to climate change, the emergence of new priority technical domains, and the increasing demands for cost, time, and project quality.
These factors necessitate the establishment of a system built upon strong expertise, Baraka underlined, saying: “The government must serve as the technical reference point to preserve and enhance our national technological sovereignty.”
Attendees during the introduction of the new program
To achieve these goals, the minister introduced a plan of priority actions aimed at reinforcing, improving, and modernizing the technical frameworks within the Ministry of Equipment and Water.
The measures outlined in the plan focus on investing in high-level education, including strengthening training at the Hassania School of Public Works (EHTP) to attract the bright students and skilled engineers.
Similarly, the plan includes implementing work-study programs at the Institute of Applied Technology (ISTP) and developing new majors aligned with the country’s evolving needs.
In a bid to cultivate the necessary skills to independently carry out infrastructure projects, the action plan will include evaluating the performance of the ministry’s employees in terms of expertise, as well as providing them with additional training and coaching.
In addition, the measures include leveraging external experts to offer technical support and assistance to ministry officials to improve their performance.
Another measure focuses on establishing scientific committees to showcase the ministry’s applied research in specialized international forums and scientific publications.
Commenting on the newly introduced action plan, Baraka said that it “aims to enhance national expertise in serving the country’s social and economic development, as well as the large-scale infrastructure projects initiated by our Sovereign.”
According to the minister, the implementation of this program will significantly contribute to Morocco’s economic growth by ensuring the complete mastery of technical skills required for the successful execution of high-quality infrastructure projects.