Baraka: Rabat-Casa continental freeway to be operational in 2030

According to the Minister of Equipment and Water, Nizar Baraka, the Rabat-Casablanca continental freeway will enter service in 2030.

Among the most important motorway projects, the Rabat-Casablanca continental freeway tops the list. According to the Minister of Equipment and Water, Nizar Baraka, the project will be completed in 2030, when the infrastructure will be put into service.

The Minister, who was answering councillors’ questions on the development of basic infrastructure as part of the weekly session devoted to oral questions, also pointed out that the route of this freeway conveniently runs alongside the large stadium to be built in Benslimane.

“This is a major added value that will greatly enhance the stadium, which will be the largest in Africa”, the Minister declared.

In addition, there is the freeway linking Guercif to Nador, which is of great importance, as well as the Casablanca-Berrchid freeway project, not forgetting the freeway linking Tit Mellil to Berrchid, on which work was recently launched and which will be 30 kilometers long, Nizar Baraka reported.

The Minister of Public Works also announced that his department had completed the studies for the freeway project between Fez and Marrakech, via Beni Mellal and Khenifra, an infrastructure of crucial importance for revitalizing these provinces and giving them a considerable boost in terms of development.

Also, in line with royal directives, the Department of Public Works is currently working on several projects for motorway sections, with the aim of increasing the national motorway network to 3,000 kilometers in the medium term, added Baraka.

With regard to road programs, Nizar Baraka indicated that his department had concluded agreements worth 20 billion dirhams with six regions, and that it was in the process of preparing other agreements with other regions as part of a new vision to open up certain provinces.

It should be noted that the Minister had affirmed that the preservation of the current national road balance remains a major intervention priority within his Ministry, within the framework of road policy. To this end, an annual envelope of some 3 billion dirhams, or around 46% of the total road budget, is dedicated to this mission.

Among these funds, 1.250 billion dirhams are specifically allocated to the rehabilitation of local roads, as part of the program to reduce territorial and social disparities. He also said that some 63.9% of the road network is in good to average condition, with 2,000 kilometers of maintenance operations carried out each year, encompassing the reinforcement, repair and widening of roads, and the maintenance of almost 50 technical structures each year.