Selon Alyaoum24the report emphasizes that the creation of these cities was done without alignment with national and regional land use planning plans or prior socio-economic studies.
The choice of locations was dictated by land opportunities rather than by a considered strategy. The absence of a specific legal framework has led to these projects being treated as simple subdivisions, ignoring their complex infrastructure needs.
On the financing side, the model adopted is largely based on public-private partnerships, but 52% of the agreements with real estate developers had been terminated at the end of 2023, hindering the completion of the projects. Local authorities, often rural, lack the resources to manage urban spaces, such as maintaining infrastructure or providing essential services.
The results are disappointing: at the end of 2023, the total population of the four cities reached only 169,036 inhabitants, or 17% of the set objective of one million. Out of 350,000 planned housing units, only 71,486 have been built, while 26% of the planned public facilities have seen the light of day. Despite investments of 24.4 billion dirhams out of the 42.2 billion budgeted, delays persist.
Faced with these failures, the Court recommends a complete overhaul of the project. She calls on the government to adopt a clear strategy to ensure coordination between stakeholders and monitoring of achievements. It also recommends the establishment of a dedicated legal framework, better governance and rigorous compliance with contractual commitments with private partners.
