Morocco’s Interior Ministry has mobilized central services after receiving reports alleging collusion between real estate developers and elected officials to manipulate expropriation procedures for public land projects, according to Hespress AR sources familiar with the matter.
The reports, submitted by internal affairs divisions, suggest developers, in coordination with municipal leaders and council members, filed requests for expropriation of land and facilities that had already been ceded to municipalities for public infrastructure under urban planning laws.
The moves appear timed to anticipate the expiration of a 10-year legal period tied to urban development plans, after which property owners regain rights to their land if planned projects have not been executed.
According to the same sources, the tactic allegedly allowed developers and powerful elected officials to pressure landowners into selling property at below-market prices once the land was legally reclaimed, raising suspicions of profiteering and manipulation of expropriation procedures for speculative purposes.
The reports also point to local councils deliberately stalling the use of land earmarked for development in order to negotiate with developers and later resell it at higher prices, particularly in areas around Casablanca, Rabat and Tangier.
Some municipalities, meanwhile, remain entangled in compensation disputes with landowners whose properties were expropriated for public projects but who have yet to be paid.
Investigations further allege that some mayors demanded strategic land plots from developers, which were later developed through companies owned by relatives. Apartments built on these plots were then sold under Morocco’s new direct housing support program.
The same officials were also accused of profiting from lucrative transfers of land reservation rights, collecting commissions of up to 200,000 dirhams per plot.
Under Article 28 of Law 12.90 on urban planning, the approval of a development plan serves as a declaration of public utility for 10 years. Once that period expires, landowners regain the right to dispose of their property, though they must still use it in line with the designated purpose of the plan.
Temporary alternative use of such land is permitted only with municipal authorization, provided it does not interfere with future public projects.
The reports conclude that some municipal councils and influential officials, especially in districts surrounding Casablanca, exploited their authority to redirect public infrastructure projects, including street lighting, roads and water and electricity connections, toward privately developed areas.
In several cases, zoning changes allegedly reclassified land into residential or industrial zones, significantly inflating property values before the land was marketed.
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