Join on WhatsApp
Join on Telegram
Rabat – Head of Government Saad Eddine El Othmani met on Thursday in Rabat with Minister of Industry Moulay Hafid Elalamy during a meeting following up on the realization of the Mohammed VI Tangier Tech City project.
As several investors are planning a visit to the Mohammed VY Tangier Tech City site, El Othmani is checking up on the USD 10 billion mega project. During the meeting, the head of government examined the state of progress of this ambitious project, the first of its kind in Morocco, launched in partnership with the Chinese group Haite and the BMCE bank of Africa.
Deemed of “great importance” to the Moroccan economy, El Othmani stated that the project would “attract large companies to invest in the Kingdom.”
At present, the first part of this project, covering an industrial area of 500 hectares, is under development and preparation in compliance with the deadlines, according to El Othmani. In total, the industrial city will cover 2,000 hectares.
In presence of Elalamy and Nezha El Ouafi, the secretary of state in charge of sustainable development, El Othmani reiterated the government’s “determination” to continue the realization of similar industrial projects and to deal with all potential obstacles.
On Monday, July 17, Othman Benjelloun, President of BMCE Bank of Africa, announced via a bank statement that he will give a press conference on Thursday, July 27 at the bank’s headquarters devoted to the progress of the Mohammed VI Tangier Tech City. One week before, the head of the BMCE issued a statement in which he assured that the construction works of the mega project are “on the right track.”
The sudden rush to reassure the public and investors of the good progress of the Mohammed VI Tangier Tech City was prompted by an investigation published on July 5 by Le Desk, a French speaking investigative website.
The investigation titled “Rif: Tanger-Tech, the other fiasco to come?” evokes a future catastrophe similar to that of the “Al Hoceima, Mediterranean Lighthouse” project which was one of the reasons behind the nine-month-long protests in the Rif.
Relying on the professional opinions of international experts of smart cities, who questioned the doability of the project, the investigation uncovered the fragility of the Mohammed VI Tangier Tech City, revealing data that showed that the whole project is in fact in jeopardy.
Le Desk’s article did not fail to send the investors as well as government officials in a frenzy.
