Rabat – Morocco is planning to boost economic activity in its southern provinces, including Guerguerat and Bir Gandouz.
State media reported that the government seeks to turn the Dakhla-Oued Eddahab region into a strategic exchange hub between Morocco and other African countries.
The country aims to establish trade zones in the El Guerguerat border and Bir Gandouz, each spanning an area of 30 hectares.
The investment will require a budget of MAD 160 million ($18 million).
The Moroccan government has already announced calls for tenders on projects designed to to attract investors and improve infrastructure in the region to encourage domestic and foreign investments.
Guerguerat has long served as a vital crossroads between Morocco and West Africa.
Frustration broke out last year in October when goods and civilian traffic was negatively impacted by Polisario’s military maneuvers in the area. Due to the importance of the region, a number of countries denounced Polisario’s acts and emphasized the importance of maintaining regional security to avoid disruptions affecting the traffic of goods in the region.
Many in the international community also commended Morocco’s deployment of its military forces to restore activities in the region.
According to the state media’s report, the region of Guerguerat and Bir Gandouz experienced geostrategic developments, increasing security at the Moroccan-Mauritani border crossing point.
The project also seeks to benefit small and medium-sized enterprises and industries across a range of sectors, including warehouse keepers, freight forwarders, freight agents, and other services such as banking, shops, among others.
Abdessamad Taoufik, Customs Officer in El Guergarate, expressed satisfaction with the project saying that the Guerguerat border post serves as a strategic transit point for Morocco, Mauritania, Europe, and West African countries.
This project is also expected to boost trade, according to the customs official.
“The securing of this border crossing by the Royal Armed Forces made it possible to boost the movement of goods,” he said, highlighting that traffic on the road increased significantly.
Taoufik presented the data, indicating that the number of trucks transporting goods was estimated at 18,553 vehicles in the first half of 2021 compared to 15,532 during the same period a year earlier.
“The volume of these vehicles exceeded 380,000 T in 2021, compared to 350,000 T in 2020,” he said.
The overall value of the goods amounted to MAD 4.2 billion ($472.64 million) in comparison with MAD 3.6 billion ($405.12 million) during the past year.
The regional director of the Ministry of Industry in Dakhla-Oued Eddahab, Bouhchaib Kiri, lauded the region’s progress.
He said that the programming of such projects is “likely to contribute to the implementation of modern structures related to trade, storage, and services” in addition to industrial activities.”
These activities will primarily benefit the sub-Saharan countries and Mauritania.
The projects in Bir Gandouz and Guerguerat are part of Morocco‘s development program for southern provinces.
The country seeks to boost business and trade in the region for the benefit of the local population.
