Morocco: Massive airport expansions announced in 2030 strategy
Another step has been made in Morocco’s strategic infrastructure development plan with a roughly 486 million dollar investment plan to expand Marrakech-Menara and Agadir-Massira airports according to The North Africa Post August 21st.
ONDA, Morocco’s National Airport Office, awarded the contracts to SociĂ©tĂ© GĂ©nĂ©rale des Travaux du Maroc (SGTM), and Jet Contractors for the Agadir Al-Massira and Marrakech-Menara projects respectively.
Both expansions will roughly cost 243 million dollars each (around 2.2 billion dirhams).
Agadir Al-Massira airport will increase and reorganise its passenger terminal, helping to expand its traveler capacity from 3 million to 7 million annually. To greater facilitate the increased number of travellers, the SGTM project will also see improvements to surrounding road networks and other exterior sites to cope with the greater traffic flow.
Meanwhile, Jet Contractors Marrakech-Menara expansion will enlarge its passenger terminal to 142,000 square meters, seeing an increased annual capacity from 9 million to 16 million travellers. As one of the most popular tourist sites in the country, the airport will now be expected to handle the sustained growth in tourist arrivals to arguably the country’s most famous hotspot of tradition and culture.
As part of Morocco’s national “Airports 2030” strategy, both airport expansions play crucial roles in the development of the country’s infrastructure, following similar trends elsewhere in Africa. The strategy, launched by ONDA, seeks to expand national airport capacity in light of sustained increases in aviation traffic, but also looks to make Morocco as a major transport hub for passengers ferrying between Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
Announced during the strategy’s February presentation, ONDA’s Director General Adel El Fakir said that all airport projects would be completed before 2028, except for Cassablanca’s facility, whose completion is scheduled for 2029.
The accelerated timeline reflects Morocco’s need to expand its infrastructure ahead of major events such as FIFA’s 2030 men’s World Cup, and an ever expanding tourism market.
To that end, the country is looking to streamline connectivity, trade and investments. Improving Morocco’s airports for greater passenger satisfaction, incorporate modern technology and align with projected traffic increases in the coming decade.
The North Africa Post, Maghrebi.org
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