Crown Holdings expanding in Morocco

Crown Holdings, Philadelphia, is building two plants in North Africa.

The can and packaging company's Carnaud Maroc SA unit will expand its operations in Casablanca, Morocco, with a new 700 million-can-year facility, and add a new plant in Agadir.

The cost wasn't immediately disclosed.

The Casablanca plant is expected to be operational next year; the Agadir plant is expected to open in August.

Carnaud has had a Casablanca plant since it was a French company building plants in French colonies in the mid-1900s.

Demand for Morocco-packed fish and other food and manufactured goods has risen since the country signed free-trade pacts with the United States and the European Union in recent years.