The Airline Industry

In a dozen years or so, Open Sky policies have made it possible to significantly increase the number of weekly air links, from 438 to over 1,265 (i.e. +9% per year) as well as the number of tourists by the end of 2018 (12.5 million). In total there are 18 airports throughout the country

Maritime infrastructure

The Tanger Med Port project was launched in 2002 and construction work on Tanger Med 1 started in 2004; in 2019 Tanger Med 2 was inaugurated making Tanger Med the largest port in Africa and able to rival the port of Algeciras. 4.8 million containers were handled in 2019, up 38% year-on-year and 65 million tonnes of goods handled. But it is the figures of vehicle traffic that are perhaps the most impressive: 500,000 vehicles were handled in 2019, including 350,000 Renault vehicles for export; 2019 also saw the first exports of PSA vehicles from the Kenitra plant.

In Casablanca, the Wessal project is reshaping the existing port and the coastal road walk, with the construction of a new shipyard, the first lot of which consists of a dry dock, mainly intended for large ships; it is equipped with a 460 ml quay of which 350 ml is for repairs while afloat and 110 ml is for linking purposes and a 450-ton gantry crane.

The port of Tanger Ville now houses a passenger port and a marina with a capacity of 1400 moorings which will make it the largest marina in the Strait of Gibraltar. The passenger port can accommodate the largest cruise ships in the world.

The Railway System and the Advent of High-speed Trains

The High Speed Line linking Tangier to Kenitra and Casablanca was inaugurated on November 15, 2018, by King Mohammed VI; it required an investment of 23 billion dirhams. But the results are in: 3 million passengers by the end of 2019 and an exemplary carbon footprint with 200,000 tonnes of carbon equivalent saved. Not to mention the effects induced by making distances shorter; there is no doubt that the LGV factored in the decision of PSA to settle in Kenitra, in addition to the opening of Tanger Med 2.

Beyond that, the Marrakesh-Agadir LGV project (a distance of 230 km traveled in just one hour), a strong component of ONCF’s 2040 Rail Strategy, is fast advancing and is foreshowing future extensions towards the south of the Kingdom.

The Road Network

With its 57,000 km, 43,000 of which are paved, the network has become significantly denser in the last twenty years, especially in rural areas through the National Rural Roads Program, which has helped connecting the most isolated areas of Morocco. 1800 km of motorways connect all major cities (over 400,000 inhabitants) and 85% of the inhabitants live less than an hour away from a motorway.

The Latest in Urban Mobility

Rabat and Casablanca have had a tramway network for several years now, and is growing extensively every year. It benefits large segments of the population and is backed by a dense and bus network being upgraded. In Marrakesh, High Service Level Buses (HSLB) have started to appear. At the same time, urban infrastructure such as cable-stayed bridges, tunnels and the widening of lanes are helping to keep traffic flowing in all major cities. Futuristic projects are being studied, including an aerial transit system in Casablanca; the feasibility of clean mobility (i.e. electric buses) is being assessed; and a manufacturing plant at Tangier Tech, as part of a mega project part of a China-Morocco cooperation.

Renewable Energies

Morocco’s renewable energy strategy is widely known; it is a reference in Africa and beyond, with ambitious goals that are well on the way to being achieved: 42% of the energy mix from renewable sources by 2020, and 52% by 2030. Flagship projects include the Noor Ouarzazate IV solar plant, the world’s largest thermo-solar energy complex and the largest wind power plant in Africa, with a capacity of 300 MW, enough to supply 1.5 million homes.

Access to electricity and drinking water

Morocco continues to invest to expand access to basic services throughout the country.

In this manner, 52 billion dirhams will be invested over the 2019-2023 period to secure the supply of electricity and drinking water and strengthen liquid waste sanitation. Part of this amount will also be used to exceed the initial target of 52% renewable energy in the energy mix by 2030. Budgets of MAD 4.2 billion and MAD 1 billion respectively will be devoted to improving the performance and quality of basic services and to extending the distribution network and electrifying 30,900 households in 1,270 villages.

Broadband connectivity

High and very high-speed internet access is a key factor in the country’s competitiveness and attractiveness. The National Telecommunications Regulatory Agency (ANRT) ensures that there is healthy competition on the telecoms market in general and on the broadband internet market in particular. Reforms are being implemented to bridge the digital divide by making broadband accessible throughout the territory and at lower cost.

Digital transformation as a lever for economic development and social inclusion

Both public authorities, and first and foremost the administration, as well as economic operators and citizens, are faced with changes of which the digital transformation is one of the most profound and rapid.
It involves fundamental issues of sovereignty and security, equality and democracy, but also competitiveness and therefore development.
Morocco has developed over the past decade a quality electronic administration, particularly in the tax (online declaration and payment of income tax and corporate income tax, declaration and payment of VAT …) and social (online tax reporting).
The dematerialization of flows is constantly expanding, and with it the challenges of security and protection of personal data (creation of a National Commission for the Control of Personal Data Protection created by Law No. 09-08 of 18 February 2009).
Today the national digital transformation strategy, in line with Morocco Numeric 2013, is based on 5 pillars, some of which are well advanced:

• The profound transformation of public administration
• The relaunch of the IT investment dynamic
• Digital governance
• IT integration and interoperability
• SME competitiveness through IT.
  

What about tomorrow?

Infrastructure development will not stop anytime soon and will affect all sectors and industries.

In order to further open up the regions of the Eastern Rif, a new port is being built on the Mediterranean, Nador West End, dedicated to oil transhipment; the works will last until 2023 for a budget of 4.5 billion dirhams. Also in the plans is a rail link project worth 3.3 billion dirhams. In the north of the country, the 500-hectare Tanger Tech free zone project is well under way and the first companies are set to arrive as early as 2020. The Casablanca region has already budgeted for work on the Casablanca bypass motorway (31 km) in order to reduce traffic on the ring road and improve north—south connectivity. Other projects of a social nature will be launched, particularly in the context of the implementation of the Programme to Combat Territorial and Social Disparities in the Rural World. These aim to improve the population’s access to basic services (roads, health, education, water, electricity, etc.). Public investment will continue to be the essential lever of private investment, the aim of which is to improve the country’s regions’ attractiveness to national and foreign investment. In wind energy, two major public institutions, ONEE and MASEN, have reached an agreement with a private developer for an 850 MW integrated wind power projects in Boujdour, where work is scheduled to begin in 2021.

Prehistory

The oldest fossil of Homo sapiens was found in Morocco in 2017. The discovery shook the history of the origin of humanity, suggesting that our species actually goes back 300,000 years and has evolved in several hotspots on the African continent.

Archaeologists are able to date the arrival of the first ancestors of the current Berber populations at 9,000 years BC. Neolithic sites near Skhirat and Tetouan show early traces of sedentary lifestyle and the birth of agriculture.

From the Phoenicians to the Greeks of Byzantium.

The Phoenicians were the first to explore Morocco, as early as the 11th century BC, by establishing trading posts. The cities of Tangier, Lixus, Sala, Mogador (Essaouira) were Phoenician trading outposts. The Phoenician influence was followed by the Carthaginian influence, which took advantage of the coastal areas to venture and establish themselves deeper inland. The Carthaginians founded outposts in Tangier and Essaouira, while building a city on the site of present-day Rabat.

In 40 AD, the northern region of Morocco was annexed to the Roman Empire. Volubilis is the most important ancient Roman site in Morocco, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997. The presence of Rome on Moroccan soil lasted until the 3rd century. At the beginning of the 5th century, the country shifted to become under the domination of the Vandals, of Germanic origin, until the middle of the 6th century, a period which saw the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I annihilate the Vandal kingdom.

Arab Conquests and Successive Dynasties

The end of the 7th and the beginning of the 8th century are marked by the consolidation of the Arab conquests, under the reign of the Umayyads, and the Byzantine withdrawal. The Arabs brought their language – Arabic – and most importantly their religion – Islam – which was to impose itself throughout North Africa.

C'est la première dynastie royale à régner sur le Maroc. A l'origine, un prince arabe issu d'Ali, gendre du prophète, réfugié dans le Moyen Atlas, que les Berbères locaux portent à leur tête en 789 sous le nom d'Idriss 1er. Son fils posthume, Idriss II, fonde alors la première dynastie royale du Maroc, avec Fès pour capitale. On doit aux Idrissides la mosquée Al Quaraouiyine et celle des Andalous à Fès, les mausolées d'Idriss 1er à Zerhoun et d'Idriss II à Fès, ainsi que la mosquée du vieux Ténès en Algérie.

A Berber dynasty, formed from a nomadic clan from the Sahara, the Almoravids settled in 1058 and dominated an empire extending from the eastern confines of the Maghreb to Andalusia for a century. They carried out a remarkable unification process these different territories, based mostly on Islam and the notion of holy war. They also promoted a refined civilization, influenced by the Andalusian culture, to which they were close. They founded Marrakesh, the second imperial city of Morocco, after Fez. Marrakesh then lent its name to the country. Many buildings date from this period, the Great Mosque of Tlemcen, the mausoleum of the Abbadid King of Seville, Al Mutamid ibn Abbad in Aghmat (30 km from Marrakesh, at the foot of the High Atlas) or the Almoravid Qubba in Marrakech.

The Almohad movement was founded in the High Atlas by a scholar by the name of Ibn Toumert who preached the return to the sources of Islam and opposed the Malikite rite practiced by the Almoravids. They overthrew the Almoravids and ruled over the Moroccan empire, including North Africa and Muslim Spain for a century; they made Rabat their imperial city. They have left an important trace in the history of this region by the brilliant culture they have been able to develop. The Almohads have left architectural treasures, both in Morocco (the Tinmel Mosque 100km from Marrakech, classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, the Hassan Tower in Rabat, the Koutoubia in Marrakech) and in Spain (the Golden Tower in Seville, now the Navy Museum, the Giralda in Seville).

The Merinids bequeathed a large number of historical monuments to Morocco, most of them in their capital, Fez, but also in other cities, the Chellah necropolis in Rabat and the Massourha mosque in Tlemcen, Algeria. The Merinid era was the era of the medersas, which were built in large numbers, making Morocco the Muslim country with the most medersas. We can mention the medersa Seffarine in Fez (called the school of boilermakers), Bou Inania of Meknes and Attalaâ of Salé.

At the beginning of the 16th century, the Saâdians, Berbers from the Draâ valley, tired by the Christian offensives, revolted against the Marinids and drove them out of power. They founded their own dynasty and fought against the Portuguese. That’s how they took back Agadir. The final battle against the Portuguese took place on 4 August 1578, near Ksar el-Kébir (or Alcazar Quivir). This battle, called the “Battle of the Three Kings,” led to the annexation of Portugal by Spain two years later. The Saadians left us with a magnificent legacy in Marrakesh, the Saadian Tombs, a royal necropolis of great architectural richness.

The Alaouite take their name from their kinship with Ali, the Prophet’s son-in-law. Coming from Hejaz, they settled in Tafilalet. The Alaouites became sultans of Morocco following a period of instability following the death of the last sultan of the Saadian dynasty in 1659. It was Moulay Rachid, the third Alaouite prince of Tafilalet, who reunified the country between 1664 and 1669 and re-established a central power, thus marking the beginning of the Alaouite dynasty of Morocco. His son, Moulay Ismaïl, moved his capital to Meknes, 60 kilometers from Fez. He repelled various European offensives while fighting against rebellious Berber tribes in the mountains.

Meknes is by far the first great work of the dynasty, a city in the Hispano-Moorish style surrounded by high walls pierced by monumental gates; it reflects particularly well the harmony of Islamic and European styles.

Modern Morocco (1956 to the present)

From the day of the independence, the sultan took the title of king, under the name of Mohamed V. On 26 February 1961, his son Hassan II succeeded him until his death on 23 July 1999. His son, Mohammed VI became the twenty-third monarch of the Alaouite dynasty and the third to bear the title of King of Morocco.

On the border between Africa and Europe, Morocco has been cradled throughout its two thousand years of history by diverse influences. The Berbers, the original inhabitants of Morocco, have mixed throughout history with Jews and nomadic tribes from the south of the Kingdom. The latter have carried a unique language, Hassani. The Arabs conquered the country between the 7th and 11th centuries, when it was populated mainly by Berbers and Romano-Berbers. Today, Arab-Berbers represent 98% of the population; they are Sunni Muslims. Sub-Saharan come from what was once the empire of Ghana, which covered Senegal, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Gambia and 85% of Mali. Descendants of Europeans joined Morocco after the Arabs withdrew from Europe in the 15th century.