Thanks to numerous innovative projects and initiatives covering various sectors, this dynamic, which strongly embodies the ambition and desire for modernisation, has reached a level that has made the city of Essaouira a leading global tourist destination, reinforcing its role as a model for convergence and interaction between cultures, openness and living together.
Thus, December 19th marked an exceptional milestone in the history of Essaouira, as the development of the “Mogador” tourist resort was signed, with an investment of 2.3 billion dirhams, in a move that strengthens the city’s position among the ranks of global tourist destinations.
This agreement, signed between the State and a consortium of investors from the Middle East, during a ceremony chaired by the Head of Government, Aziz Akhannouch, in the presence of the Advisor to His Majesty the King, Founding President of the Essaouira-Mogador Association, André Azoulay, and a number of ministers and senior officials, concerns the revival of the Essaouira Mogador Resort Development Company (SAEMOG), through the injection of capital ensuring the necessary funding for the completion of this massive project, which is expected to increase the capacity to 3,700 beds, an increase of 35 per cent compared to the current capacity, as well as the creation of more than 4,000 direct jobs.
The first phase of this ambitious project, which reflects the confidence enjoyed by the destination of the City of the Wind, aims to renovate and expand the existing hotel, transform the current clubhouse into a “boutique hotel”, and build another modern clubhouse, all within 3 years.
This tourist offer will also be enriched through the opening of a “Club Med”, and the creation of tourist residences and guesthouses, as well as a commercial and leisure area, which will enhance the attractiveness of Essaouira at the national and international level.
The second phase, which will begin seven years after the completion of the first phase, includes the development and expansion of a 266-hectare area, which will represent a new stage of the Mogador resort development project.
Last July, the city achieved a massive and unprecedented investment feat during the major “Essaouira Investor Day” event, through the announcement of structuring projects with a total value of between six and seven billion dirhams, accompanied by the creation of between 6,000 and 7,000 direct jobs, and about 20,000 indirect job opportunities.
These major projects, which include strategic sectors such as the pharmaceutical industry, the automotive sector, renewable energies and the digital field, are expected to boost the local economy, and provide new opportunities for the population and future generations, as well as contributing to expanding the city’s industrial and technological fabric.
And in light of this exceptional momentum, the City of the Wind is preparing to operate the “Economic Activities Zone”, designed to meet the specific needs of local companies and provide them with an ideal working environment.
This state-of-the-art infrastructure, which has a capacity of 150 companies, will provide suitable real estate solutions and business needs and spaces dedicated to strategic sectors such as the valorisation of Argan, marine products, local products and building materials.
This project, which was officially approved in the presence of the Advisor to His Majesty the King and Founding President of the Essaouira-Mogador Association, André Azoulay, as well as a number of ministers and senior officials, aims to promote the development of emerging sectors such as cosmetology, chemistry, renewable energies and creative industries, with a view to promoting Essaouira’s position as a centre for innovation and competitiveness.
According to the forecasts of the Regional Investment Centre of Marrakech-Safi, “every dirham invested in the Economic Activities Zone will generate a return of four dirhams, in the form of private investments, and thus benefit the entire region economically”.
In parallel, an investment programme worth 2 billion dirhams was launched, within the framework of the Regional Development Programme, including strategic projects such as the construction of the City of Arts and Culture (350 million dirhams), the development of the coastal road (380 million dirhams), and the improvement of the supply of drinking water to rural areas, as well as the development of urban forests, with a total funding of 217 million dirhams.
The private sector plays an important role in this dynamic that the City of the Wind is witnessing, which is reflected in the opening of the “Mogador International Clinic” last July, a project for which a total investment of 256 million dirhams was earmarked and contributed to the creation of about 200 jobs, including 129 in the paramedical sector.
In an effort to achieve economic diversification, the City of the Wind followed a strategic approach during this year that is nearing its end, aiming to reduce the heavy reliance on the tourism sector, which dominates local activity.
Within the framework of this ambition, the city chose to develop new industrial sectors, particularly in the neighbouring areas, with the aim of ensuring a sustainable economic balance, through which the city’s tourism assets coexist harmoniously with the emergence of innovative industrial sectors.
