King Mohammed VI launches projects involving Moroccan corporations in Abidjan

In line with his speech delivered on the opening of the Ivorian-Moroccan economic forum, HM King Mohammed VI, accompanied by Ivorian Prime Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan, launched, on Wednesday in the Yopougon industrial area, western Abidjan, the building works of a factory for manufacturing cement packaging bags, worth 12 million euros (8 bn CFA francs).

This unit, to be carried out by Africa-Côte d'Ivoire Cement company (CIMAF-Côte d'Ivoire), a subsidiary "of Addoha" Moroccan group, will have a yearly production capacity of 80 million bags (extendable to 160 millions), for the group's cement plants in Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea Conakry, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Gabon, Congo-Brazzaville, Niger and Mali.

Thanks to this project, Côte d'Ivoire will no longer need importing cement packaging bags from Morocco. The project's goals are transferring technology, saving time and money, and bringing closer related services.

The plant's activity will consist of importing clinker from two factories of the Moroccan company "Ciment Atlas, CIMAT", also a subsidiary of Addoha group, unloading it at the port and carrying and crushing it for the production and marketing of all types of cement.

This plant has been operational since July 2013 and created 250 jobs, 95% of which is meant for local populations. The plant will contribute to fighting cement prices volatility, an issue with a huge impact on the country's real estate sector.

On the same day , HM King Mohammed VI, accompanied by Ivorian Prime Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan also inspected the building site of 'Résidences Akwaba' real estate project, carried out by Moroccan group Alliances in the city of Anyama, district of Abidjan.

Built over a surface area of 65 hectares, the project concerns the construction of 7,800 economic and social houses, as well as several community-based facilities (health center, schools, high schools, middle schools, trade center, mosque, church and sport fields.)
This integrated project, which will help limited-income citizens in Abidjan acquire decent, functional and accessible accommodations, will be constructed over three phases within five years and will benefit around 70,000 people.

The Résidences Akwaba project is part of the Alliances group's comprehensive program of building 10,000 social houses and 4,000 medium and high standing houses in the district of Abidjan, as laid in the agreement signed by the said group and the Ivorian State.
This ambitious program, which is part of efforts made by the Ivorian State to face the housing deficit estimated at 500,000 units, provides also for the building by the group of the "Grand Bassam" real estate project (114 ha) for 1.3 billion dirhams.

This integrated project consists of the construction of social and economic medium standing houses (440 units), the building of community-based facilities and the development of several land plots.