Following the example of Casablanca, which in 2020 will have two tramway lines financed to the tune of €100 million by the French Development Agency (AFD), the Moroccan city of Tangier will soon have its own Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system. The infrastructure is designed to relieve congestion in the city centre, where almost 1.3 million people pass each other every day during rush hour, adding to traffic jams and air pollution.
According to a World Bank study, this situation is exacerbated by the lack of sustainable mobility and transport solutions. Well, the BRT project currently being examined by Morocco’s Agence pour la promotion et le développement du Nord (APDN) should enable the people of Tangiers to get around more quickly and more cheaply. With this in mind, the public institution recently launched a call for tenders valid until 20 October 2023.
At a cost of 12 million Moroccan dirhams (1 million euros), the tender covers “the master plan for the exclusive right-of-way public transport (TCSP) lines and the preliminary design studies” for the first BRT line in Tangier. The 21-kilometre line will link the Mohammed VI University Hospital to the Tanja El Balia industrial estate. For the moment, there is no information on the total financial value.
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At the same time, other initiatives designed to make Tangier a green city are under way. These include the “Cité Mohammed VI Tanger Tech” project, which will be completed by 2033 by a number of companies, including the Société d’aménagement Tanger Tech (SATT) and the Beijing Zhonglu Urban Development Corporation, based in China. Work is due to start in 2022 and will involve the construction of a number of environmentally-friendly buildings (residences, tourist parks, etc.) covering an area of 2,167 hectares. The councils of Laaouma and Sebt Azzinate will be the main beneficiaries.
Benoit-Ivan Wansi