Le Monde / Africa | Interview By: Ghalia Kadiri | GPE – September 07, 2017:
For Mohamed Amine El Hajhouj, director of the Zenata Development Corporation, the project developed near Casablanca could be exported to other countries.
Originally published August 29, 2017: Will the eco-city of Zenata make us forget the failure of new towns in Morocco?
For ten years, the brand-new cities built throughout the kingdom struggled to seduce the new inhabitants, trapped in outlying phantom cities. This time, Morocco has embarked on the construction of a city that is intelligent and respectful of the environment.
Inaugurated in 2006 by King Mohammed VI, the eco-city project, an unprecedented experience in Africa, is expected to accommodate 300,000 inhabitants by 2030
Nothing is left to chance.
Zenata is located on a property of great financial value belonging to the State: a strategic reserve of 1,830 hectares with a 5 km maritime frontage on the northeast border of Casablanca, economic capital where more than 30 % of Moroccan GDP.
And while the other new towns have been delegated to unscrupulous builders, the future eco-city has its own structure, the Zenata Development Corporation (SAZ).
It has appealed to the French firm Reichen & Robert and has received financial support from the French Development Agency (AFD, partner of World Africa) and the European Investment Bank (EIB).
To read full article (in French) – please click here.
