- Following a successful MOU signed between China Communications Construction Co (CCCC)and its subsidiary, China Road and Bridge Corp (CRBC) and Morocco-based BMCE Bank back in April, construction of a new tech city in Northern Tangier commence earlier this week.
- The new smart city is named Tanger Tech Mohammed VI.
The project was originally going to be co-developed with China’s Haite group and the Northern Regional Council. “There were disagreements on the ownership of the city among other issues. Our partners are Chinese but this does not mean that the city belongs to Chinese,” said Ilyas El Omari, head of the northern Tangier-Tetouan-Alhoceima region.
Tanger Tech Mohammed VI city will be constructed in three phases covering up to 700 hectares out of 2,000 hectares in total. Work has already started to connect the city to roads, electricity, water and rail.
The government of Morocco will grant tax incentives to companies operating in food industries, automotive, aeronautical, renewable energy, chemical and textile.
The tech city will also benefit from its Tanger Med Port which is currently still being expanded to enhance trade, additionally Tanger Med launched new terminals on Friday therefore increasing its container handling capacity to about 9 million making it the largest in the Mediterranean Sea.
The new tech city is expected to attract investments worth US 10bn and create over 100,000 jobs.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
