Construction of phase I of Zenata ecological city
in Morocco is set to be completed in 2020. Sanitary facilities are currently
under construction and 2,000 residential units have already been put up for
sale after the marketing of residential units was launched in July 2019.
The project consists of 2,000 ecological dwellings
covering a surface area of 70 hectares, 30 of which are buildable, with an
accessible floor area of 840,000 m2.
Developed mainly for the middle class, and the
dwellers of slums in Casablanca, the residential units of the eco-city will be
occupied in three phases by 2023, in order to house 8,700 families.
According to the general manager of the Zenata Development Company,
Mohammed Amine El Hajhouji, the work to fully connect the eco-city to the
water, electricity and sanitation networks has been completed, as has the
construction of transport infrastructure and works on the railways located in
the area. “This work is part of the first phase of the project, which covers
800 hectares. They will be delivered by 2020, with operations expected to start
no later than 2022,” he said.
Zenata ecological city is located in the northeast
of the Moroccan metropolis of Casablanca. It covers 1,830 hectares with 5 km of
coastline opening onto the Atlantic Ocean. Created in 2006 at the initiative of
the State, Zenata is the first African city to be awarded the Eco-City Label
(ECL), a certification obtained at COP 22.
The new city includes a total of 470 hectares of
green spaces and retention basins for the wet season to promote groundwater
recharge and afforestation of the site. These naturally irrigated parks leading
to the sea are thus designed as ‘ecological corridors’.
The construction works are financed by Morocco,
through loans of US $166m from the French Development Agency (AFD), another US $166m from the European Investment Bank (EIB), and a US $4.4m grant from the European Union
(EU).
The eco-city of Zenata will certainly be at the top of Morocco’s list of participants at the next Africa-France summit to be held from June 4 to 6, 2020 in Bordeaux. https://constructionreviewonline.com/2019/08/phase-i-of-zenata-ecological-city-project-in-morocco-to-be-completed-in-2020/
