Casablanca in 2018...
18 June 2015
Read by 2616 persons
40 major projects and 7 billion dirhams to transform the economic capital.
By 2018, we can be proud to be Casablancans. This was announced by Driss Moulay Rchid, general director of Casablanca Aménagement, during a press conference dedicated to the presentation of the progress of the work to protect the city of Casablanca from the floods of the Oued Bouskoura. This meeting, held yesterday, Wednesday, June 10 in Casablanca, was also an opportunity to take stock of the various projects carried out by the company.
It therefore emerges that Casablanca Aménagement is currently working on no fewer than 40 major projects designed to transform the economic capital with an envelope of nearly 7 billion dirhams (See details on pages 5 and 6). "Over the next two years, Casablanca will be a major construction site whose fruits can be harvested as early as 2018. Only the tramway project will be completed in 2022," said Moulay Rchid. And he continued: "Ultimately, all these projects will help to enhance the image of the metropolis to bring it up to the standards of major cities in the world."
Thus, always with this ultimate objective in mind, the general director of Casablanca Aménagement presented the progress of the work to protect the city of Casablanca from the floods of the Oued Bouskoura. According to him, "the entire city of Casablanca has been built on the bed of the Oued Bouskoura, which shows that during years of heavy rainfall, the city is flooded by water that reclaims its natural passage. And it is precisely to remedy this inconvenience that Casablanca Aménagement is leading the project to build a tunnel to divert the waters of the Oued Bouskoura to the sea."
Also, to carry out the work, Casablanca Aménagement acquired, through the Turkish company Makyol, a tunnel boring machine worth 100 million dirhams which will make it possible to dig a 5.5 km long tunnel at a depth of about forty meters, joining the Oued Bouskoura to the Atlantic, near the Morocco Mall. "We have received the tunnel boring machine and assembled it. It is a huge machine that will start working next week," explained Moulay Rchid. Note that the project includes two distinct sections: first, upstream of the El Jadida road, a section in an open canal with a total length of approximately 3 km, with variable slopes and sections to best adapt to the morphology of the natural bed of the wadi. And then, from the El Jadida road to its outlet at sea, an underground tunnel gallery of approximately 5.2 km and an approximately 1 km earth-filled trench of 4.6 m in diameter after concrete lining. In more detail, the longitudinal profile of the tunnel remains at a depth well exceeding ten meters over the first five kilometers. Beyond that, on the sea side of the Azemmour road, the cover decreases so that the tunnel, while retaining its interior section, is constructed in an earth-filled trench on a lane of the Sidi Abderrahman road. As it approaches the shore, the size limited by the outlet coast on the one hand and the red line of traffic lanes on the other, leads to a quadruple culvert after a transition section ensuring a good distribution of the flow between the 4 openings of the culvert.
220 million dirhams for the Mohammed V sports complex
The project concerns the renovation and upgrading of the Mohammed V sports complex, the mythical stadium of the city of Casablanca, and is part of the new strategic vision and the emergency plan of the metropolis. The renovation work of the complex will affect the playing field, the changing rooms, the stands, the installation of new stands, the construction of examination rooms, the electrical and audiovisual installations, etc. in order to restore to this infrastructure, steeped in sporting history, its former glory and raise it to the level of stadiums recognized by the highest authorities for the organization of major international competitions. Today, upgrading structures and infrastructure is one of the city's priorities to ensure the safety and comfort of users and to comply with international standards.
A new face for the Arab League Park
Casablanca Aménagement has been designated as the delegated project manager for the renovation project of the Arab League Park. This project should start in September 2015 and will include several stages. For the moment, Casablanca Aménagement is in the process of selecting a company that will take charge of the landscape and technical studies and the monitoring of the works. With a total budget of 100 million dirhams, the project includes, in addition to expansion work, a renovation of the Yasmina park which will be demolished to build a new ecological park in its place. Note that in this budget, the Casablanca urban municipality, which is the project owner, contributes 45 million dirhams, as well as the Greater Casablanca region with 20 million dirhams and the General Directorate of Local Authorities with 35 million dirhams.
Sindibad is ready and waiting for its operating permits
The Sindibad project is an integrated project that has been structured around 3 axes that accompany the development of the Casablanca metropolis. The first, which is already completed and which is only waiting for its operating permits to start, concerns the creation of a high-level amusement park and a wildlife park. The Sindibad park covers an area of 34 hectares and required an investment of 346 million dirhams. It will consist of 4 projects that highlight all the riches of the Sindibad area. The park will thus include a leisure area, a wildlife park, an ecological park and a recreational forest. The famous statue is being replaced and the park will open to the public very soon.
Archaeological Park Project: Make way for History!
The Sidi Abderrahmane Archaeological Park project is the result of a partnership signed between the Ministry of Culture, local public authorities and the Casablanca Aménagement Company as the delegated project manager. The Sidi Abderrahmane Archaeological Park project is located in the southwest of Casablanca, in the Ain Diab district. It is located a few hundred meters from the beaches of Ain Diab, surrounded by the large integrated Sindibad project and the ODEP Club. With a total cost of 40 million dirhams, the Sidi Abderrahmane Archaeological Park should be delivered in December 2015.
New underpass planned
The project consists of the construction of an underpass leveling all the intersections leading to the Casablanca Marina from the Les Almohades and Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah boulevards. The development concerns a route totaling a linear length of 1,500 meters, of which almost all is an underpass, i.e., 1,220 meters, for a total cost of 600 million dirhams.
Grand Théâtre de Casablanca: A titanic project...
The CasArts project, Grand Théâtre de Casablanca, aims to provide the city of Casablanca with a multidisciplinary arts and culture space of international stature, open to all. It will be a multidisciplinary space dedicated to all performing arts (theatre, music, dance, musicals,...), a leading meeting place for art and culture and an architectural and urban icon for the city of Casablanca. In addition to broadcasting national and international works and shows, CasArts aims to become a real lever for artistic and cultural development for the country, through support and promotion of local artistic creations and cooperation with other spaces and cultural actors in Morocco and abroad. This is how, in April 2011, an agreement on the methods of implementation and financing of the project was signed, designating Casablanca Aménagement as the delegated project manager in charge of managing the project, for the construction and preparation for operation aspects, on behalf of the Casablanca urban municipality. The budget allocated to this project has been set at 1.44 billion dirhams.
The Ain Sebaâ zoo promised a bright future
Aware of the symbolic and functional importance of the current site of the Ain Sbaâ zoo, the local public authorities are planning the redevelopment of the Ain Sebaâ zoo into a multi-functional park combining leisure, relaxation and the discovery of the emblematic animal of the site, the Atlas lion. To this end, the Casablanca urban municipality has entrusted the Casablanca Aménagement Company with the mission of delegated project management for the implementation of the Ain Sebaa Zoological Park project. With a total cost of 250 million dirhams, the project covers an area of approximately 10 ha.
By 2018, we can be proud to be Casablancans. This was announced by Driss Moulay Rchid, general director of Casablanca Aménagement, during a press conference dedicated to the presentation of the progress of the work to protect the city of Casablanca from the floods of the Oued Bouskoura. This meeting, held yesterday, Wednesday, June 10 in Casablanca, was also an opportunity to take stock of the various projects carried out by the company.
It therefore emerges that Casablanca Aménagement is currently working on no fewer than 40 major projects designed to transform the economic capital with an envelope of nearly 7 billion dirhams (See details on pages 5 and 6). "Over the next two years, Casablanca will be a major construction site whose fruits can be harvested as early as 2018. Only the tramway project will be completed in 2022," said Moulay Rchid. And he continued: "Ultimately, all these projects will help to enhance the image of the metropolis to bring it up to the standards of major cities in the world."
Thus, always with this ultimate objective in mind, the general director of Casablanca Aménagement presented the progress of the work to protect the city of Casablanca from the floods of the Oued Bouskoura. According to him, "the entire city of Casablanca has been built on the bed of the Oued Bouskoura, which shows that during years of heavy rainfall, the city is flooded by water that reclaims its natural passage. And it is precisely to remedy this inconvenience that Casablanca Aménagement is leading the project to build a tunnel to divert the waters of the Oued Bouskoura to the sea."
Also, to carry out the work, Casablanca Aménagement acquired, through the Turkish company Makyol, a tunnel boring machine worth 100 million dirhams which will make it possible to dig a 5.5 km long tunnel at a depth of about forty meters, joining the Oued Bouskoura to the Atlantic, near the Morocco Mall. "We have received the tunnel boring machine and assembled it. It is a huge machine that will start working next week," explained Moulay Rchid. Note that the project includes two distinct sections: first, upstream of the El Jadida road, a section in an open canal with a total length of approximately 3 km, with variable slopes and sections to best adapt to the morphology of the natural bed of the wadi. And then, from the El Jadida road to its outlet at sea, an underground tunnel gallery of approximately 5.2 km and an approximately 1 km earth-filled trench of 4.6 m in diameter after concrete lining. In more detail, the longitudinal profile of the tunnel remains at a depth well exceeding ten meters over the first five kilometers. Beyond that, on the sea side of the Azemmour road, the cover decreases so that the tunnel, while retaining its interior section, is constructed in an earth-filled trench on a lane of the Sidi Abderrahman road. As it approaches the shore, the size limited by the outlet coast on the one hand and the red line of traffic lanes on the other, leads to a quadruple culvert after a transition section ensuring a good distribution of the flow between the 4 openings of the culvert.
220 million dirhams for the Mohammed V sports complex
The project concerns the renovation and upgrading of the Mohammed V sports complex, the mythical stadium of the city of Casablanca, and is part of the new strategic vision and the emergency plan of the metropolis. The renovation work of the complex will affect the playing field, the changing rooms, the stands, the installation of new stands, the construction of examination rooms, the electrical and audiovisual installations, etc. in order to restore to this infrastructure, steeped in sporting history, its former glory and raise it to the level of stadiums recognized by the highest authorities for the organization of major international competitions. Today, upgrading structures and infrastructure is one of the city's priorities to ensure the safety and comfort of users and to comply with international standards.
A new face for the Arab League Park
Casablanca Aménagement has been designated as the delegated project manager for the renovation project of the Arab League Park. This project should start in September 2015 and will include several stages. For the moment, Casablanca Aménagement is in the process of selecting a company that will take charge of the landscape and technical studies and the monitoring of the works. With a total budget of 100 million dirhams, the project includes, in addition to expansion work, a renovation of the Yasmina park which will be demolished to build a new ecological park in its place. Note that in this budget, the Casablanca urban municipality, which is the project owner, contributes 45 million dirhams, as well as the Greater Casablanca region with 20 million dirhams and the General Directorate of Local Authorities with 35 million dirhams.
Sindibad is ready and waiting for its operating permits
The Sindibad project is an integrated project that has been structured around 3 axes that accompany the development of the Casablanca metropolis. The first, which is already completed and which is only waiting for its operating permits to start, concerns the creation of a high-level amusement park and a wildlife park. The Sindibad park covers an area of 34 hectares and required an investment of 346 million dirhams. It will consist of 4 projects that highlight all the riches of the Sindibad area. The park will thus include a leisure area, a wildlife park, an ecological park and a recreational forest. The famous statue is being replaced and the park will open to the public very soon.
Archaeological Park Project: Make way for History!
The Sidi Abderrahmane Archaeological Park project is the result of a partnership signed between the Ministry of Culture, local public authorities and the Casablanca Aménagement Company as the delegated project manager. The Sidi Abderrahmane Archaeological Park project is located in the southwest of Casablanca, in the Ain Diab district. It is located a few hundred meters from the beaches of Ain Diab, surrounded by the large integrated Sindibad project and the ODEP Club. With a total cost of 40 million dirhams, the Sidi Abderrahmane Archaeological Park should be delivered in December 2015.
New underpass planned
The project consists of the construction of an underpass leveling all the intersections leading to the Casablanca Marina from the Les Almohades and Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah boulevards. The development concerns a route totaling a linear length of 1,500 meters, of which almost all is an underpass, i.e., 1,220 meters, for a total cost of 600 million dirhams.
Grand Théâtre de Casablanca: A titanic project...
The CasArts project, Grand Théâtre de Casablanca, aims to provide the city of Casablanca with a multidisciplinary arts and culture space of international stature, open to all. It will be a multidisciplinary space dedicated to all performing arts (theatre, music, dance, musicals,...), a leading meeting place for art and culture and an architectural and urban icon for the city of Casablanca. In addition to broadcasting national and international works and shows, CasArts aims to become a real lever for artistic and cultural development for the country, through support and promotion of local artistic creations and cooperation with other spaces and cultural actors in Morocco and abroad. This is how, in April 2011, an agreement on the methods of implementation and financing of the project was signed, designating Casablanca Aménagement as the delegated project manager in charge of managing the project, for the construction and preparation for operation aspects, on behalf of the Casablanca urban municipality. The budget allocated to this project has been set at 1.44 billion dirhams.
The Ain Sebaâ zoo promised a bright future
Aware of the symbolic and functional importance of the current site of the Ain Sbaâ zoo, the local public authorities are planning the redevelopment of the Ain Sebaâ zoo into a multi-functional park combining leisure, relaxation and the discovery of the emblematic animal of the site, the Atlas lion. To this end, the Casablanca urban municipality has entrusted the Casablanca Aménagement Company with the mission of delegated project management for the implementation of the Ain Sebaa Zoological Park project. With a total cost of 250 million dirhams, the project covers an area of approximately 10 ha.
