Rabat – The Moulay El Hassan esplanade, an ecological infrastructure in Marrakech, was inaugurated on Saturday. The ceremony took place as part of the celebration of the 19th birthday of Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan.
The ecological space, which is a part of the “Marrakech, city of permanent renewal” project, required an investment of MAD 53.9 million ($5.3 million) and covers an area of 17 ha.
With a width of 200 meters, the facility extends over a length of nearly 2 kilometers between the Mamounia and the Menara.
The General Directorate of Local Authorities contributed with an amount of MAD 42.5 million ($4.2 million), the urban municipality of Marrakech with MAD 1.4 million ($140.077), and the Ministry of National Education, Preschool and Sports with an investment of MAD 10 million ($1 million).
The plants featured in the green space are chosen for their hardiness in the local climate, requiring few sizes, resistant to insects, diseases and drought.
The use of fertilizers and chemical phytosanitary treatments is prohibited and the watering of plants is reduced to the drip system in order to reduce water consumption, while grass surfaces are reduced and watered by a sprinkler system, Morocco’s state news agency quoted an official statement as saying.
The park’s lighting makes use of LED technology and solar energy.
The esplanade also includes an urban park and to host various events, a large synthetic grass playground, and a garden of cacti and succulents spread on an area of over more than one hectare.
Also attending the inauguration ceremony were the wali of the Marrakech-Safi region Karim Kassi-Lahlou, the president of the Municipal Council of Marrakech Fatima-Zahra Mansouri, and the president of the region, Samir Goudar.
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