The Moroccan National Telecommunications Regulatory Agency (ANRT) has announced that the Maroc Connect Company has been granted the new generation license to establish and use a new fix telecommunications network.
The ANRT evaluated the different bids it received and reported its results to the Moroccan Premier, Driss Jettou, who approved it and signed the license Tuesday, said the ANRT in a release issued Wednesday.
Maroc Connect is due to pay MAD 306 million to the government. It is also expected to undertake important investments to a value of MAD 1 billion before the end of the first year of the contract.
The offer has the support of a strong shareholder, Omnium Nord Afrique (ONA), to which Maroc Connect is attached, and the partnership with the Moroccan National Office of Electricity, which will be in charge of running the telecommunications network.
ANRT launched the call for tenders on June 20, and two candidate companies competed to get the license: Maroc Connect, directed by Karim Zaz, and Orascom Telecom Maroc, owned by businessman Najib Sawiris.
The final decision about the winning company had been delayed when the evaluation committee appointed by ANRT on July 8 required further information from the candidate companies.
The companies were asked to provide information about the conformity with some elements of the offers, which were not made public by ANRT. They were also called to specify the deal's financial value, especially since the government expected a payment of USD 40 million for the license.
ANRT said Maroc Connect offers an innovative approach with the use of new technologies and an important infrastructure network, which will help it contribute to the development of the telecommunications sector in Morocco.
Morocco Times 2005
