Novec’s Order Backlog Surges to Record High

The organization of the 2030 World Cup requires Morocco, a co-host alongside Spain and Portugal, to upgrade its sports, airport, urban, and mobility infrastructure, both within cities and between different urban centers.
According to official estimates, this global event alone would enable the three host countries to welcome between 10 and 15 million spectators during the seven-week tournament.
The 2030 World Cup and the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), both to be hosted in the Kingdom, further underscore the importance of focusing on key national players who will significantly contribute to delivering the large-scale infrastructure essential for the success of these two major events for Morocco.

At the forefront of flagship projects

Novec, an engineering consulting firm involved in executing several critical infrastructure projects driving the development of the Kingdom, stands as a compelling example in multiple respects.

The consulting engineering bureau, a subsidiary of CDG Développement (the territorial development arm of the CDG Group), may be lesser-known to the general public. However, its pivotal contributions to numerous infrastructure projects resonate widely with Moroccans.

Notable examples include the Tanger-Kénitra high-speed rail line (LGV), the Tanger University Hospital (inaugurated by the Sovereign), the Tanger Med port, the national highway network (1,800 km), and stadiums in Tanger, Fès, Marrakech, and Agadir.

In the national context, marked by the anticipation of constructing several vital infrastructure projects for the country’s development and the success of the aforementioned sporting events, the central question has been whether Novec—with its nearly 400 employees, including 200 engineers, and its three subsidiaries (TME, Novec Gabon, and Novec Mauritanie)—will have the capacity to support the Kingdom in delivering these monumental infrastructure undertakings.

Novec will rise to the occasion

Mounir El Houma, Deputy Managing Director (DGD) of the consulting engineering bureau, which boasts nearly 70 years of cumulative experience in major projects (port infrastructure, water, dams, sanitation, hydro-agricultural development, tramways, bus rapid transit, etc.), is categorical: Novec, like the nation, has always risen to the challenge of delivering large-scale infrastructure projects.

The engineer by training, with over 30 years of experience, has no doubt about the Kingdom’s and Novec’s ability to successfully execute major infrastructure projects within a relatively tight timeframe.

According to the DGD of the entity, which is involved in infrastructure construction across nearly 20 African countries, the launch of several gigantic infrastructure projects over the past 25 years has significantly strengthened the country’s capabilities in execution and quality.

Undoubtedly, this progress has positively impacted Novec, now equipped with extensive expertise in critical infrastructure projects essential for hosting the 2030 World Cup (mobility, airports, stadiums, urban planning, hospitals…).

El Houma also emphasizes the quality and expertise of Novec’s human resources, which he considers its cornerstone as a leading consulting engineering firm in Morocco and across the African continent. “Our expertise and credibility have been built through various successes. Moreover, like all consulting firms, our achievements rely on the intellectual capital of our talents,” he explains. He adds: “Today, we are fortunate to count on the best technicians and engineers in the country. They join us because we offer them a premier learning environment. Even better, these talents continue their careers at Novec because they choose to support their country on the path to excellence.”

Beyond patriotic commitment, Novec’s working conditions and organizational structure (with multiple specialized divisions), which leverage state-of-the-art technologies (software, AI, etc.), are two attractive factors for Moroccan engineers, who are highly sought after in Europe, Canada, and the Middle East.

Additionally, the public entity provides young national engineers—graduates of prestigious institutions (École Hassania des Travaux Publics, École Mohammadia d’Ingénieurs, Institut Agronomique et Vétérinaire Hassan II in Rabat, etc.)—with optimal mentorship conditions. In essence, they can draw on the expertise of numerous seasoned engineers.

Furthermore, Novec, which is increasingly expanding its activities in Africa, is equipped with a modern archiving center, among other facilities. This allows newly recruited talents to access a rich and diverse repository of documentation to enhance their engineering expertise.

Financially, the key indicators of the public entity, which has nearly 3,000 project references, are robust.

An order backlog of 1.4 billion dirhams

When asked about Novec’s key financial indicators for 2024 (revenue and net profit), El Houma states: “As we speak, the financial results are being finalized, but I can assure you that 2024 holds good surprises in terms of revenue and net profit—relative to Novec’s targets.”

According to the executive, the results will reinforce Novec’s ambitions and demonstrate that the CDG Group’s strategic vision, aligned with the country’s needs, is being properly implemented by the consulting engineering bureau’s management.
Regarding revenue, our interviewee confirms expectations of double-digit growth, while noting that very positive prospects are emerging for 2025 (the year of the Africa Cup of Nations) and beyond, due to the approaching deadlines of the 2030 World Cup.

Another revelation from our source: thanks to contracts secured in 2024, Novec’s order backlog has reached nearly 1.4 billion dirhams (MMDH), marking a record in this regard.