The Association of the South-West Industrial Zone of Mohammedia (AZIM) recently organised its 2nd forum on the theme 'The Industrial Zone: an eco-citizen approach' under the chairmanship of the Minister of Industry, Trade, and New Technologies, Abdelkader Amara. Organised in partnership with the Mohammedia Industry and Trade Delegation and the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Services, this event brought together companies, investors, and public administrations to make known the industrial potential of this zone and to establish an idea about its future operation. 'The success of an industrial zone relies on the environment it offers to investors, its members. But this objective remains intimately linked to the commitment of economic actors, local and regional authorities, and the coordination of the various vital sectors concerned with the improvement of infrastructure and accessibility,' affirms the Minister of Industry, Trade, and New Technologies. According to him, if the industrial zone of the Oriental does not yet know the expected enthusiasm, it is because the flights to and from Casablanca are not adapted to the needs of investors, according to their own testimonies: 'It is therefore a collective work in which each party must fully play its role.' The Mohammedia industrial zone has entered a new phase. Almost all the lots are operational. Today, this zone is preparing to start a 2nd stage which consists of producing and offering services to its members. To do this, it proposes to create a solidarity services centre with the objectives of improving the quality of work in the zone. It involves, among other things, a catering place respecting hygiene measures and offering employees of the zone meals in good conditions and at reasonable prices, a Business Centre offering multiple multimedia services especially to companies that do not have them, and a training centre allowing for courses ranging from management methods to literacy courses, including management, accounting, or quality or safety awareness courses. The creation of a dynamic website is also envisaged. It will collect all information likely to interest members (customs, tax, job market problems...). Furthermore, the zone has the ambition, through an eco-citizen approach, to offer its members a pleasant working framework in a clean and non-polluted environment. In this regard, it plans to sign an agreement with a company in the zone already engaged in an environmental approach which provides in its charter to plant in the zone a number of trees equivalent to its annual paper consumption. A pool of companies interested in the collection of industrial waste in order to better valorise it will also be constituted. The South-West Industrial Zone of Mohammedia also plans to implement in the medium term a development plan for a park along the motorway for moments of relaxation or sports practices. Nevertheless, all these works require real motivation from all members through their effective involvement. 'Given that the zone is saturated, I take this opportunity to request the intervention of the Minister to plan the development of another zone in the Mohammedia prefecture to satisfy the requests of investors who wish to settle there, and thus allow our city to recover the place that belongs to it on the chessboard of industrial regions,' underlines Abdelkarim Mazouzi, President of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Services of Mohammedia. According to the President of AZIM, Abdallah Zouhir, the South-West Industrial Zone of Mohammedia is a true industrial city that offers investors all the basic and social equipment necessary for the creation of their companies. It was set up in 1991 and managed by specifications regulating the allocation and valorisation of lots. The total area of this platform is 117 hectares, of which 58 hectares have been reserved for the first tranche, spread over 282 lots ranging from 350 to 4000 m². Towards the end of December 2013, 90% of the lots will be allocated. The zone today counts more than 160 active companies representing several sectors such as the mechanical and metallurgical industries sector, the chemical and parachemical sector, the agri-food sector, and the textile and clothing sector, as well as services related to industry. Eventually, this zone will reach more than 280 companies by 2015 with added value in terms of job and wealth creation. In this sense, more than 7,000 jobs are created with a total investment of approximately 600 million dirhams.

AZIM is the non-profit association grouping companies installed in the industrial zone. It was created in 1998 and underwent its first upgrade in 2006. Among its missions, we cite institutional intermediation and the development of partnership with local public services and national and international organisations. AZIM also works for the development of exchange between companies in the zone and the representation of member companies before all local, national, and international bodies. It also contributes to the development of basic infrastructure and common spaces in the Industrial Zone. The association aims to be a 'facilitator' of investment and economic development, a 'promoter' of the zone, its members, of the economy and human development in the city of Mohammedia, as well as a 'federator' of the efforts and resources of the companies in the zone.