The local authorities of Tangier decided on Wednesday to put an end to the revision operation of the development plan for the Jbel Kébir area, the Achakar road, and Ziaten, a project that has sparked controversy within civil society and local political actors.

According to the local authorities, this operation, which concerned an area endowed with great natural potential with dense forest cover and a position between the Strait of Gibraltar and the Atlantic Ocean, has been stopped pending the global revision of the development plan for the city of Tangier, expected in the coming months.

The announcement of the launch of the revision operation of the development plan for the Jbel Kébir area had sparked fears regarding a possible opening of the forest space to urbanisation, despite the explanations of the local authorities who had assured that the revision was in the direction of reducing urban density in this area and increasing the forest surface.

Furthermore, observers fear that some landowners in this area might take advantage of the suspension of the revision project to request building permits, as the current development plan does not prohibit construction in the area concerned. Several civil society actors are calling, in this regard, to classify the whole of Jbel Kébir as a nature reserve, to prevent any urban invasion of this vital space, considered as a lung of the city of the Strait.

The coordination for the protection of the environment and green spaces of Tangier held a meeting on Tuesday with parliamentarians, presidents of elected councils, and professional chambers, in order to adopt a common position against any revision of the development plan that would be likely to harm the Jbel Kébir forest, an initiative supported by all local political actors.

The local authorities had already affirmed, in a statement, that contrary to the concerns expressed, the revision was in the direction of strengthening forest spaces, limiting construction, and prohibiting construction on the seafront in the area concerned.

The revision project provided, in fact, for prohibiting construction in an additional 400 hectares, currently open to urbanisation, which will be attached to the forest space. This measure would have made it possible to increase the protected forest area in the vicinity of Tangier to 2,200 hectares, compared to 1,800 hectares currently.

It was also a question of prohibiting construction on the seafront on the coasts of Achakar and Sidi Kacem, currently open to urbanisation, and of reducing urban density in the Achakar area, by limiting the height of buildings to two floors, compared to 4 floors currently.