Weary of the countless official and unofficial obstacles fuelled by personal stakes and interests, the Spanish company Merke, which built 300 apartments dedicated to social housing within the framework of a real estate project that provides for the creation of 1,400 units, has just put an end to its investments estimated at 30 billion centimes. This project concerns the site known as Jnane located in the city of Safi and which covers an area of seven hectares.

Started three years ago, this real estate project included social, educational, and sports infrastructure, a dispensary, a youth centre, a shopping centre, a high school, and a green space. It constituted the first experience in Morocco for the Spanish firm initiated in partnership with the municipal council and the regional investment directorate. To this end, said company had committed to offering a quality product at affordable prices varying between 280,000 and 450,000 dirhams, with a view to meeting local demand estimated at 18,000 units in the urban perimeter alone.

The company, which relocated to Algeria after several hassles and obstacles imposed by local decision-makers, planned to invest in the creation of 10,000 apartments over ten years in the cities of Marrakech, Casablanca, Agadir, Fez, Meknes, and Oujda.

This relocation is a hard blow for the city of Safi, which has been struggling for a few years to achieve its socio-economic opening up. Without forgetting, of course, the negative impact of such news on the business world in Morocco. What does the Benkirane government say about it?