Germany’s Siemens is establishing a factory in Morocco to manufacture rotor blades for onshore wind turbines. The company said construction is to commence as early as the spring of 2016, with the factory aiming to become operational within a year’s time.

The investment is estimated to cost €100m ($110m) and wil create up to 700 jobs. The factory will be catering to what Markus Tacke, CEO of the Siemens Wind Power and Renewables Division, describes as the growing onshore wind power markets in Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

”The economy is strong, the political climate is stable, and Morocco has a young, skilled and motivated workforce. These factors make Tangier the ideal site for this new state-of-the-art factory,” Tacke said in a statement.

Clean and renewable energy is expected to play a major role in meeting the country’s growing energy demand.

The Moroccan government’s target is to generate 42 percent of its energy mix from renewables by 2020, of which 20 percent will come from wind power.

The share of renewable energy in the overall energy mix is expected to further increase to 52 per cent by 2030.

The planned production facility will have a surface area of 37,500 square meters and will be located in Tanger Automotive City, which is approximately 35 kilometres from Tanger Med port.

Centrally located between Europe and Africa, the Tanger Med port is seen to provide the right conditions for the handling and export of blades to various locations in Africa, the Middle East and Europe.