Agadir – The ground has been broken on a 20-hectare authentic safari park opening in Agadir, Morocco. Just steps away from the Crocodile Park in the Drarga neighborhood, the “Lion Park of Drarga” fits well with Agadir’s other tourist attractions and ambitious development plans.
Agadir’s Urbanism and Territorial Management Agency gave permission to construct the park to Moroccan Hakim Abdelhafid in June 2019. According to local sources, Abdelhafid is a trained biologist who owns a private safari park in South Africa and has experience in lion breeding on reserves.
Abdelhafid decided to bring his safari skills to Morocco, a region with few facilities of such caliber. The lion park, styled after a traditional African safari, will cover 20 hectares in the Drarga area of Agadir. The location is directly off the autoroute, making it easy to access from other regions.
Abdelhafid’s project began construction in December 2021, not to be confused with a previous attempt to build a safari-style park in the same area.
The zoological garden will serve both tourists and care for African, Barbary, and white lions. The visitors’ area includes a restaurant, prayer facilities, and ecolodges with a swimming pool for extended stays.
Abdelhafid will import 45 lions from his reserve in South Africa. They will roam among argan trees in true safari-like conditions, as opposed to being caged like in zoos. Visitors will be able to “take a safari” and drive through the lions’ habitats.
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The Lion Park of Drarga is a welcome accompaniment to Agadir’s urban development program, which has a budget of MAD 6 billion (around €565.59 million) for 2020-2024. As one of Morocco’s most popular tourist destinations and the top coastal attraction for tourists, the development program will foster its assets to boost Agadir’s economic and social development process.
The Governor of the Souss-Massa region Ahmed Hajji explained centering Agadir as an economic and social hub for the region has six main points: new urban transport lines, new road entrances to the city, developing tourist zones, preserving the environment, promoting the city’s cultural heritage, and strengthening basic social amenities.
The Lion Park of Drarga will fulfill at least three of these roles by providing a new tourist attraction to Agadir while hiring a minimum of 45 full-time employees and respecting the environment.
