The official decree formulating the Souss Massa Industrial Acceleration Zone (ZAI) has been signed by the Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch, the Minister of Economy and Finance Nadia Fettah and the Minister of Industry and Trade Ryad Mezzour.

Decree 2-23-725 outlines  the 305-hectare zone located in the Drarga commune, Agadir-Ida Outanane prefecture and was published on January 6 in the official government bulletin.

The decree states that the land will be extracted from land titles 2351/S and 229927/09 in addition to the land on which the first phase of the project is being built, namely land titles 240324/09 and 239783/09.  This area is bounded to the north by national road number 11 linking Agadir to Marrakech, to the east by the Souss-Massa agropolis, to the west by Tagadirt and to the south by Tadouart.

An area of 100 hectares will be designated for the Agadir Atlantic Hub Dry Port project. A coastal shipping line will link the dry port to the ports of Tangiers and Casablanca. The scope of this project is a major factor and incentive for investment in the acceleration zone.  As a result of pressure on land and the infrastructure projects planned around it, the Agadir seaport cannot be extended.

The long-awaited dry port will be one of the pillars of the Souss-Massa Industrial Acceleration Zone and will link Souss industrialists to international logistics and freight platforms.

Food industry, automotive, renewable energies…

The main reason for the delay in adopting draft decree 2-23-725 which amends decree 2-18-738 establishing the « export processing zone, » since renamed the « industrial acceleration zone », lies in the initiative to include new activities not specified in the former decree.

Officially, the activities that the industrial acceleration zone plans to host relate to the food and agri-food industry, chemicals and parachemistry, the automotive industry, aeronautics, equipment for renewable energies, textiles, construction, the metallurgical, mechanical, electrical and electronics industries, the port industry and the plastics industry. The only addition to the original text concerns activities linked to the Agadir Atlantic Hub Dry Port project.

Does this small addition justify the delay in adopting the decree? We’ll leave that for you to judge. For the time being, dozens of land parcels ranging in size from 1,482 to 74,643 m2 are being offered for sale at prices ranging from 450 to 900 dirhams per square meter. The publication of the decree establishing the industrial acceleration zone will undoubtedly attract more investors.

Written in French by Amine Belghazi, edited in English by AngloMedia.