The European Investment Bank said on Wednesday it will lend Morocco 1 billion euros (1.06 billion U.S. dollars) over the next three years to support the north African country's reconstruction efforts after a September earthquake.

The loan was announced by EIB Vice President Ricardo Mourinho Felix after a meeting with Morocco's budget minister Fouzi Lekjaa in Marrakech on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank annual meetings.

The earthquake that struck on September 8 killed nearly 3,000 people and damaged 60,000 homes, mostly in the High Atlas mountains.

Overall, Morocco plans to spend 12 billion U.S. dollars on a post-earthquake reconstruction plan that includes the upgrade of infrastructure over the next five years.