Interview with the Director General of the Regional Investment Centre (CRI) of the Dakhla-Oued Eddahab Region, Mounir Houari
Interview conducted by: NES in Dakhla, Karim Ben Amar
The Dakhla-Oued Eddahab region is experiencing a real boom in terms of development and investment opportunities across many fields. To learn more about this "Eldorado" for investors, the Al Bayane team, while visiting Dakhla, met with the Director General of the CRI of the Dakhla-Oued Eddahab region. Approachable, kind, and attentive, Mounir Houari details all the investment advantages the region has to offer. Interview.
Al Bayane: Why is investing in Dakhla advantageous for a local or foreign investor?
Mounir Houari: I would say that it is very interesting to invest in Dakhla. The region has been experiencing a palpable economic boom for several years, especially since the launch by His Majesty of the new development model for the Southern provinces in 2015. Several projects have been implemented to strengthen infrastructure and enhance the region's attractiveness in various sectors. Note that we are in a region that represents almost 19% of the national territory, so there is availability of land. State-owned land is mobilized for productive investment. The diversity of promising sectors in the region allows for many opportunities, whether in the fishing sector, agriculture, tourism, logistics, or services. The Dakhla-Oued Eddahab region is developing with a very sustained growth rate. You should know that we have one of the highest GDPs per capita, 75,000 dirhams, compared to a national average of 30,000 dirhams. We have a growing population. The growth rate exceeds the national average of 3.2%. There are therefore many investment opportunities available. Let us emphasize that there is a lot to be done. We need services, we need more companies, and consultancy. The opportunities are there, and there is easy access to state-owned land to carry out investment projects compared to other regions that have more or less reached saturation in terms of land available for investment, which previously constituted a blocking factor for investors, knowing that private land is expensive. State-owned land is offered at competitive prices to promote the creation of productive investment and employment.
Is the Dakhla-Oued Eddahab region equipped with infrastructure to facilitate investment for national or foreign project leaders?
Infrastructure in the Dakhla-Oued Eddahab region is experiencing sustained development thanks to major structural projects. There is the new Dakhla Atlantic port (scheduled for 2029) with its industrial and logistics zone of almost 1,650 hectares, which will constitute a real platform to host different types of investors and investments in industry, logistics, and the processing industry. There are also the two logistics zone projects in Bir Gandouz and Guerguerat, not to mention, of course, the seawater desalination project (scheduled for 2025) which will help support the development of agriculture in the region. These are therefore infrastructures that will increase the region's attractiveness, as well as the development of renewable energies, which has now become a decisive element in the choice of territories. You should know that many companies wish to escape the carbon tax, especially companies that export to the European Union. Being in a region that has renewable resources to power their industry and remain very competitive is of great importance to these industrialists. Therefore, there is always continuous work to develop infrastructure within the city, that is to say, sanitation infrastructure, connection to drinking water, connection to electricity, and all this aims to put in place a diversified offer and allow for the attraction of more investments and investors in the near future.
Is the tourism sector a fruitful lever for the development of the region?
You should know that the tourism sector currently represents less than 1% of the region's GDP. That said, it is important to note that the sector is developing very well in the region, with challenges that will have to be managed in the medium and long term. These are ecological challenges. It is imperative to ensure that this development can take place while respecting the environment and not harming the ecosystem. What allows us to sell the Dakhla destination on a national and international scale is this bay which attracts kite surfers, and it is this beautiful landscape. Therefore, the development of the tourism sector is happening, but with great caution. And all this is prepared in advance. There must be sanitation infrastructure to prevent hotels from having to use their own treatment plants with the constraints that can occur when there is a problem of poor maintenance or poor management and having untreated water discharged directly into the bay. You should know that in this bay, there is a very important sector for the development of the region, which is the aquaculture sector. We must therefore ensure that we can combine tourism development while also being sustainable and respectful of the environment. Currently, our bed capacity is almost 3,000 beds with growth potential. You should also know that all stakeholders are working to diversify our tourism offer so that it is no longer concentrated only on the kitesurfing niche. We must develop wellness, business tourism, cultural tourism, and desert tourism to create this diversity around this sector and be able to develop safely and be sustainable.
Many investments have been made in the agricultural sector. Will Dakhla be able to become an agricultural hub in the near future?
Indeed, Dakhla is full of enormous potential in terms of agriculture. Admittedly, currently, only 1,000 hectares are exploited, and it was a decision to limit the area to 1,000 hectares. Why? For reasons of sustainability, since we were using a non-renewable groundwater table. Hence the seawater desalination project, which will be one of the stations totally powered by clean energy. It is a 60-megawatt wind farm that will power this desalination station. The goal is to allow the irrigation of 5,000 hectares, but also to supply the port of Dakhla and the city of Dakhla with drinking water using a new, more environmentally friendly approach. You should also know that we have a significant comparative advantage, which is earliness. Therefore, everything produced in Dakhla arrives at the market three to four weeks before other regions and other countries, with very good and highly prized quality, whether it be cherry tomatoes, melons, or recently, red fruits and especially blueberries. It is a sector that will develop with a whole ecosystem that will be created around it, packaging stations, packing stations, and equipment manufacturers. It is a very important sector for creating jobs, but also for continuing this approach of diversifying the region's economic fabric.
What are the future prospects in terms of investment in the Dakhla-Oued Eddahab region?
Future prospects, as I mentioned, will be realized through major structural projects. We strongly believe that the new Dakhla Atlantic port will allow this region to play a major role as a gateway to Africa and a hub of trade between different continents. We also believe that projects in renewable energies, whether they are projects to produce electricity or recently projects for the production of green hydrogen and green ammonia, will allow for the creation of a whole ecosystem that will attract industrialists and high value-added investments. The fact that the State has invested in several infrastructures, whether port, road, or logistics infrastructure, will give this region a pivotal role and an economic hub that will constitute a link between Europe and Africa. Admittedly, we must prepare for these major structural projects through the qualification of human resources, through the establishment of health, education, and entertainment infrastructure so that we can attract talent that will want to make the choice to move and come to settle in the Dakhla region. Also, this region will allow for the establishment of ecosystems to add value to African resources and raw materials. Many companies are now thinking about transporting raw materials from certain countries, such as bauxite from Guinea, to carry out transformations in aluminum processing units and thus be able to export. This will help strengthen trade with our African brother nations and create value for the different nations.
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