The city of Tamesna hosted its 3rd Festival from 13 to 15 March. Organised by the Al Omrane group in collaboration with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Policy and civil society, this event, the choice of date for which was not fortuitous as it coincides with the 8th anniversary of the launch of this city by HM King Mohammed VI, had the merit of raising certain problems encountered by the inhabitants of Tamesna.

Thus, speaking on this occasion, the Minister of Housing and Urban Policy, Nabil Benabdellah, indicated that the support plan for the development of the new city of Tamesna, the execution of which is underway and has required a total amount estimated at 583 million dirhams, aims to promote this city according to a coherent and balanced vision, to facilitate access to it and to establish road links with surrounding cities. And to note that new cities have the function of supporting the balance of the urban network. The new cities programme, he adds, represents a tool that contributes to the balance of the urban network in large Moroccan cities, meets housing needs and guarantees better socio-economic service.

And in order to reassure the many families who have been harmed, the Minister wished to recall that, on the High instructions of the Sovereign, the real estate conflicts in the city, which now has 35,000 inhabitants, will be resolved.

For his part, Badr Kannouni, Chairman of the Al Omrane Management Board, highlighted the stages crossed by the project since the launch of the city's construction on 13 March 2007, and which, eight years later, has all the necessary infrastructure (water, electricity, sanitation, road network connecting the city to the capital and the national motorway network, a mosque, three schools and a vocational training institute in the construction and public works trades). Mr. Kanouni also praised the efforts deployed which have made it possible to connect the city to its external environment, since the first phase of construction work on the road connecting Tamesna to the capital has been completed and the agreements for the construction of the road between Tamesna and Témara and the link to the Rabat express bypass have been signed. In the process, he welcomed the cooperation of civil society, which constitutes an essential partner in this major project and which has set up a framework for communication and fruitful actions and developed the cultural and sporting entertainment of the new city, which was crowned this year by the organisation of the 3rd edition of the annual Tamesna Festival, under the theme "Civil society, a lever for urban development".

For his part, the president of the festival's associative fabric, Miloud El Hachimi, noted, during this meeting, the presence of an effective partnership between the city's civil society and the Al Omrane Tamesna Group, which translates the provisions of the Constitution on the ground. And to note that the unification of efforts tends to make Tamesna an open city via a cultural offer, hence the programmes combining reflection and entertainment concocted for the festivals.