The banks of the Issyl Wadi are the focus of a major urban redevelopment program split into three phases and awarded to two separate contractors. The project aims to transform the long-neglected riverbanks into a landscaped public space featuring walking paths, green areas, and local amenities.

According to sources consulted by TelQuel, the project has a budget of just under 197 million dirhams. The three construction lots have been divided between the VIAS and MP Project consortium and the Mojazine Group.

The redevelopment forms part of Marrakech’s broader urban renewal and infrastructure improvement program. Société Al Omrane Marrakech-Safi is serving as the delegated project manager on behalf of the City of Marrakech.

A river reclaimed by the city

The Issyl River is a major tributary of the Tensift River. Rising in the High Atlas Mountains, it runs along the eastern and northern edges of Marrakech’s medina before crossing a large part of the ochre city. The boulevard bordering its riverbed is a key thoroughfare near the Daoudiate neighborhood, around a 20-minute walk from the Majorelle Garden.

After more than a decade of drought, the river regained its natural flow in October 2024 following heavy rainfall. The return of the water also renewed attention on its long-neglected banks.

The redevelopment project seeks to transform this section of the river. The banks will be stabilized, equipped with drainage infrastructure, and upgraded to better integrate the waterway into the surrounding urban fabric rather than leaving it on the city’s margins.

Three phases, two operators

The first phase, which lays the technical foundation for the project, has been awarded to the VIAS and MP Project consortium for approximately 59 million dirhams. According to sources consulted by TelQuel, it includes preparatory works, earthmoving, roads and utility networks, retaining structures, surfacing, synthetic turf areas, landscaping, lighting, and street furniture under a turnkey contract.

The second phase, awarded to the Mojazine Group for nearly 68 million dirhams, covers a similar scope but places greater emphasis on hydraulic infrastructure. According to our sources, it includes the installation of pipelines and related equipment.

The third phase, also assigned to the Mojazine Group, has a budget of around 70 million dirhams. It extends the redevelopment along another section of the riverbanks, including the construction of a promenade, drainage systems, sewer infrastructure, an irrigation network, fencing, and landscaping. Together, the three phases follow a unified design while covering different stretches of the riverfront.

Al Omrane at the Helm

The project is being overseen by Société Al Omrane Marrakech-Safi in its role as delegated project manager, acting on behalf of the City of Marrakech, the project owner. A steering committee bringing together Al Omrane’s regional office and the Marrakech-Safi provincial authorities is supervising the works.

The governance structure reflects the project’s place within Marrakech’s wider urban renewal program, of which the redevelopment of the Issyl River banks is one component. According to Al Omrane, dividing the project into three phases will allow work to progress gradually along an extended section of the river while distributing execution between two contractors.

Ultimately, the project aims to create a continuous, river-centered public space stretching along the boulevard. Whether it will reshape a neighborhood already transformed by the river’s return remains to be seen.

Written in French by Younes Saoury, edited in English by Amina Kadiri