The project, set to begin this month, is to be conducted in three stages, with the first stage due for completion by September 2005 and the final stage by the end of 2007. Weaving capacity at the plant in Settat, 70 kilometres south of Casablanca, is to increase to 21 million metres a year from 12 million metres a year, and finishing capacity will rise to 26 million metres a year from 18 million metres a year.

Of the total investment, 30 per cent will be equity-financed and 70 per cent will be raised through debt financing from local institutions. The banks involved in raising the debt are Societe Generale Marocaine des Banques ( SGMB), Banque Marocaine de Commerce Exterieur( BMCE), Attijari Wafabankand Banque Marocaine de Commerce et de l'Industrie ( BMCI).

In making its investment, Settavex, which has a 45 per cent share of Morocco's textiles market, will benefit from a number of government incentives, including a reduction in water price, immunity from import duties and subsidies on infrastructure and equipment.