Casablanca’s Parking Revolution: Billion-Dollar Overhaul to Tackle Urban Gridlock

"We have not yet decided on the alternative," says Houcine Nasrollah, vice-president of the municipal council, confirming to Médias24 that the municipality is considering completely revising the management method for parking lots, currently managed by Casa Baia, the local development company. The council is studying several options. "A call for expressions of interest or even a partnership. Several versions are currently on the table. The municipality is seriously considering it, but no decision has been made yet," he insists.

The official explains that Casa Baia is unable to fulfill its responsibilities. "It is notably in charge of 3D (disinsectization, rodent control and disinfection) at the city level, but also of waste collection for 1.6 billion DH, monitoring the landfill and soon the future waste recovery center, and green spaces. In its basket of activities, parking comes last," explains Houcine Nasrollah. And to continue: "Parking is therefore not a priority for it. It is not its business, and it is mainly for this reason that we are considering moving to another management method." The authorities want to entrust this sector to a specialized company.

In addition to parking lots, Casablanca has heavily invested in underground parking lots. "Today in Casablanca, we not only have surface parking, but also underground parking lots, which have cost the city several million dirhams," notes the vice-president, citing "the parking lot of the Rachidi square, that of the Arab League on the Brahim Roudani boulevard, or even that of the Triangle des hôtels behind the Royal Mansour hotel." The city plans to build other facilities in Aïn Diab on an area of 6 ha or near the Mohammed V Sports Complex. "The parking lots built by the city have cost it nearly 1.5 billion DH," specifies the elected official.

A study is underway to update the city’s parking plan. "We have an initial plan, which is obsolete," says Houcine Nasrollah. This plan, adopted in 2017, needs to be revised to take into account the changes in the metropolis. "Casablanca has a total of about 800,000 spaces. The 2017 PDS planned for 45,000 paid parking spaces, but only 8,000 exist to date," he points out, before reassuring: "This does not mean that all the city’s parking spaces will become paid." "The details of this sector will therefore be reviewed, with a new zoning and a new pricing that will discourage people from parking in the city center for hours."

The vice-president of the municipal council argues that "the objective behind this vision is absolutely not financial. It is rather to improve and streamline the flow of traffic within the city." According to the available data, "parking in Casablanca barely brings in 3 million DH. Yet a single parking meter costs around 200,000 DH, or even more, and its repair is often problematic. The objective is therefore not at all financial," he says. And to conclude: "We will not recover this money with a rate of 2 DH/hour. However, if we generate revenue alongside, it’s not bad."