Minister Delegate to the Prime Minister in charge of Housing and Urbanism, Ahmed Toufiq Hjira, has described the condition of the medinas in Morocco as "alarming". Calling for the preservation of the historic medinas he said that ... “90% of them are in an alarming situation.”
Hjira explained that the current legislation regulating the sector does not take advantage of the Moroccan richness of the urban patrimony, such as medinas, ksours and kasbas. This has led to the emergence of densely populated urban and rural zones and an environment of architectural disequilibrium.
He also said that a total of 4.700.000 people live in shantytowns in different Moroccan cities.
“The State, civil society and all the economic and social actors have to mobilise themselves in order to find adequate solutions for housing problems,” Hjira said during a study day themed “The Project of the Urbanism Law in light of the Royal Letter of January 18, 2006”.
According to Hjira, the study day, which is part of the national debate on the promulgation of the Urbanism Law, aims at defining the orientations of a new policy of urbanism based on the dynamic mobilisation of all the professionals in the housing sector.
He added that the architects have an important role to play in modernising the quality, improving and preserving the architectural patrimony for a sustainable economic and social development.
Hjira highlighted that the new urbanism law constitutes a great social project that will contribute to the modernisation of Morocco.
He stressed the necessity to democratise the debate on the urbanism law and organise study days of dialogue on this project with the different actors of the society.
Hjira affirmed that the adoption of this new law is part of developing mechanisms and tools to regulate the urbanism sector in the Kingdom.
“The new law will contribute to consolidating the proximity policy in order to encourage investment, human development and fighting poverty,” said Hjira.
Asked about the norms of construction that can allow the construction of a house at a cost of MAD 120.000, Hjira excluded the revision of the current norms.
“Such revision of the norms entails an elaboration of a specific apartment programme. This means that the housing professionals have to introduce new construction technologies with prefabricated material,” said the minister.
Concerning the introduction of new construction technologies, he stressed that “it is not for the government to get engaged in buying this technology, and the traditional aid methods are not part of the Moroccan current choice.”
He concluded that if private operators are holding back on the introduction of technology, foreign investors will not hesitate to pull the carpet from under their feet.
Tags: Morocco Fes, Maghreb news
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