City of Meknes in Morocco: Plan for Agriculture, Tourism & Investment in Meknes

Interview with Ahmed Hilal, Mayor of Meknes

I would like to introduce Ahmed Hilal, the Mayor of Meknes. Welcome.

Thank you. I am glad to welcome you to the city of Meknes. Meknes is a very important city, the city of Moulay Ismaïl. Before talking about the city I would like to talk about myself a little bit. I have been the mayor of Meknes for about a year and a half. I am a former deputy and an engineer. I studied in France and worked in the industry sector. I aim to manage the administrative district of Meknes in a very modern fashion in terms of transparency, in order for Meknes to develop.

How do you intend to help it develop? What is your policy and what are Meknes’ advantages?

First, it is necessary that the mayor pursues a locally-developed policy, and be regularly in touch with citizens. We hold meetings in community centers to find out about their needs. This is part of the PDC, Plan de Développement Communal, or Local Development Plan.

As you know, Meknes is one of Morocco’s most important cities. It has a magnificent cultural heritage: 45 km of castle fortification, Morocco’s most beautiful doors, a gulf, palaces… everything it takes to develop tourism. We are also located near one of Morocco’s most important Roman cities, Volubilis. It is absolutely enchanting.

Our action plan aims at bringing Meknes up to par, particularly in terms of infrastructure facilities, in order to attract investment. I believe in investment: it brings wealth to the city, it creates jobs. I am the most important investor of the city myself. I invested about 1,500,000,000 dirhams this year, or more than 130,000,000 Euros, only in the field of infrastructure facilities. This is to pave the way for future investment. 

How do you pave the way for investment exactly? Can you tell me more about projects that are under way?

Several projects are being carried out. First, the “Green Morocco Plan” has been allocated a 150,000,000,000 dirham budget and has created numerous jobs. As part of this plan, we created the 630 hectares-wide “Agropolis”, with a view to promote agro-industry and improve farm products in terms of packing etc. in order to make them more competitive and to increase their value added. Wholesale trade firms are to be transferred to the Agropolis. By creating synergy in this sector, we aim for it to expand into the international market. 

What do you think foreign markets, European markets for example, can gain from Moroccan wholesale trade?

In addition to the Agropolis, we are working on what we call the dry port. Road haulage and product transportation is a crucial point nowadays: we have to be able to deliver products as quickly as possible. Products going to Europe are shipped to the Tangier-Med port. Tangier-Med being overloaded, Meknes had the opportunity to create a dry port in the region. It is 15km away from the city of Meknes.

The city’s know-how is also important, with the National School of Agriculture, the Moulay Ismaïl University, the Al-Akhawayn University in Ifrane which trains senior executives. When investors arrive, they find the necessary infrastructure facilities, industrial zones, and highly qualified supervisors that can accompany investors throughout the process. We also have a Center for Research and Product Enhancement. All these elements combined contribute to the products’ increased value added before exporting them to Europe as well as Asia and America.

So Meknes has a choice position in the field of agriculture. It also held Africa’s biggest agriculture fair. Can you tell us more?

The International Agriculture Fair of Meknes is now in its 5th year. It attracted more than 800,000 visitors last year, from 34 different countries. It is one of the most important agriculture fairs in the world. We are hoping to welcome visitors from about 45 different countries in 2011. 

For example, olive tree specialists come from Greece, Spain, Tunisia, Italy, sometimes to acquire land. It will be held in April, and I would like to personally invite all investors and all people interested in agro-industry to take part in this important event.

What is Meknes’ position in Morocco in the field of tourism?

Meknes is part of the “Plan Azur” carried out by the government. However, it isn’t advertised as much as it deserves. We are currently working with both the Regional Center for Investment and the Regional Center for Tourism on an action plan to better advertise it. I am convinced that Meknes really is one of Morocco’s most beautiful cities; unfortunately it isn’t as widely known as other regions of the country. 

Did it preserve its traditions, does it benefit from some sort of genuine charm tourists may be looking for?

We tried playing up both aspects: traditions and modernity. We preserved the Medina, but we also enhanced it. Its inhabitants need a good quality of life, we have to ventilate it, create green spaces, create shops. Of course there are the 45km long fortification walls. We put a lot of resources into restoring and preserving the medina, its walls and its ancient doors.

Could Meknes be a city break destination? Could European tourists visit Meknes in a weekend’s time?

It is more than possible. Meknes is between two a half to three hours away from Casablanca, and the airport of Meknes-Fes is about two hours away from Europe. I encourage you to come and spend a weekend in Meknes; you will be enchanted.

What is your dream, what is your ambition for Meknes in 5 years?

I represent the citizens’ interests. I mentioned the Local Development Plan; citizens take an active part in it. I want to respond to their needs. If all citizens of Meknes have access to water, electricity and infrastructure facilities, I will be satisfied.