Rabat – The board of directors of Morocco’s National Motorway Company (ADM) approved its 2022 budget on February 8 under the chairmanship of the Minister of Equipment and Water Nizar Baraka.
The board has forecasted a MAD 3.2 billion ($343 million) turnover with a 2% increase in traffic and 400,000 new “Jawaz” (toll-road subscription) users, to reach a total of 1.9 million subscribers by the end of 2022, ADM reported in a press release.
Additionally, ADM plans to conduct major repairs in 2022 covering 87 kilometers of motorways as well as invest MAD 1.4 billion ($150 million) on expanding the Casablanca-Berrechid and Casablanca highways to three-lanes and constructing the new Tit Mellil-Berrechid motorway.
“As part of the ongoing efforts and actions undertaken to ensure the safety of motorway users, ADM presented its plan to launch the ‘traffic info radio 107.7’,” the statement added.
The radio station aims to provide Morocco with a radio frequency dedicated to motorway users, to support and consolidate ADM’s new mission as a service-oriented company. The ADM statement further added that it aims to “take advantage of Traffic Info Center investment as well as interact directly with the motorway users.”
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Complementary to ADM’s mission, Morocco’s National Road Safety Agency (NARSA) works to secure road safety and issues driver’s licenses and car registration. On January 17, NARSA adopted a 2022-2024 national road control plan in line with Morocco’s 2017-2026 national road safety strategy.
The plan addresses the main issues endangering the safety of drivers, passengers, and pedestrians. These include excessive speed, driving under influence, phone use, and disrespect of safety measures such as the use of helmets and seatbelts. Through its 2017-2026 national road safety strategy, the agency is tasked with decreasing road fatalities across Morocco by 50% between 2015 and 2026.
To monitor violations of the legal speed limit and other types of traffic violations, NARSA recently purchased 550 new generation radars. The new fixed radars can detect up to 24 vehicles at the same time while recording the average speed of vehicles, distinguishing between light and heavy vehicles, and reporting the vehicle number plates.
On February 2, ADM, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), and the MAScIR Foundation launched a research project on improving safety on national highways.
The project “integrates meteorological data and other risk factors related to accidents” to issue recommendations for road management, the participants explained.
As Morocco records an annual average of 3,600 fatalities and more than MAD 20 billion ($2.15 billion) in road accident-related material losses, public and private stakeholders seek to provide safe roads to Moroccan drivers, passengers, and pedestrians across the country.
