diff --git a/ci/setup_spack.sh b/ci/setup_spack.sh
index 3e12f9eb10c9c5277cc85dbce8f3a0077f3f8c9f..229f01621427c6185e7cbf46d37a46b329f35e3b 100755
--- a/ci/setup_spack.sh
+++ b/ci/setup_spack.sh
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ git -C spack checkout $SPACK_VERSION
 
 
 echo "Adding spack system config file"
+echo mkdir -p ${SPACK_SYSTEM_CONFIG_PATH}
 mkdir -p ${SPACK_SYSTEM_CONFIG_PATH}
 
 EXTERNAL_REPOS=$(jq -r '.spack.repos | keys[]' ${STACK_CONFIG})