The Grand Casablanca Regional Council has just approved a rehabilitation project for the Aïn Sebaâ zoo. This is part of the structuring projects whose list has been drawn up by the city. The region will therefore dedicate 250 million dirhams to this project, which is part of the metropolis's priority action plan. The budget will be distributed between the Ministry of the Interior through the General Directorate of Local Authorities (130 million dirhams), the urban commune (80 million dirhams) and the Grand Casablanca region (40 million dirhams). When the work is completed, the zoo will occupy an area of 10 hectares. This is therefore a large-scale project that had been demanded for several years by many associations that describe this zoo as a death trap for Casablanca.

The city council and Casa Aménagement, the delegated project manager, plan to redevelop the zoo into a multifunctional park combining leisure and relaxation. The park will consist of a 5-hectare wooded area, a 2.5-hectare zoo and a 2.5-hectare play park. The redevelopment of the Aïn Sebaâ Zoological Park will be based on the concept of zoo-immersion, a conceptual technique that combines landscaping and zootechnics in order to immerse the visitor in a careful recreation of the animals' original habitat. Preliminary studies and diagnosis: The objective is to invite the public to venture into a complex ecosystem and to go and "meet" the animals. The barriers, fences and moats necessary for containing the animals will be replaced by rivers, waterfalls, rocks, tree trunks, embankments or terrain faults. A "quality" landscape recreation will transform the zoo into a succession of dioramas where the sensation of captivity disappears, to transmit to the visitor emotions worthy of a safari. The project will feature an emblematic animal of the site, the Atlas Lion in this case. According to the city council, the future Aïn Sebaâ zoo will be open to the people of Casablanca in two years. For the moment, the delegated project manager is in charge of carrying out the preliminary studies and the veterinary diagnosis of the animals present in the zoo, before launching the calls for tenders for project management. The start of the development work is scheduled for next September.

The metropolis is inspired by Valencia: The mayor of the city, Mohamed Sajid, and the DG of Casa Aménagement, Driss Moulay Rchid, went to Valencia (Spain) last April to learn about this city's experience in the development and management of public gardens and parks.

As part of this same mission, contacts were established with the company Rain Forest, in charge of the management and operation of the Valencia Zoological Park which covers 10 hectares, and that of Fuengirola which covers 3 hectares. Casa Aménagement, as delegated project manager of the Aïn Sebaâ Zoological Park, had established a memorandum of understanding with the company Rain Forest, for support in the realisation of the Casablanca zoo project. The city will thus be inspired by the Valencia zoo, which benefits from the latest equipment in the field.