Morocco’s Ambitious 105km Guercif-Nador Motorway: Reshaping the Oriental Region’s Future

The construction site of the 105 km long Guercif-Nador Motorway, divided into three main sections: Guercif-Saka (36.5 km), Saka - Driouch (40.5 km) and Driouch-Nador (27 km), is making significant progress, reports Le360. The third section already has a 50% completion rate. "The section connecting Driouch to the port of Nador is in the midst of intensive construction," says Ilyasse El Moueden, representative of the Société nationale des autoroutes du Maroc (ADM). And to specify: "We have already carried out 6 million m³ of earthworks, 5 million m³ of backfilling and applied 400,000 tons of asphalt."

Other works: the construction of three major engineering structures for the crossing of wadis, as well as 19 crossing structures, between underpasses and overpasses. This section should be put into service next summer. As for the second section (Saka-Driouch, 40.5 km), it will be launched through a tender scheduled for the end of this month. A pre-selection of the successful companies is underway for the first Guercif-Saka section (36.5 km). The clearing of the road right-of-way has already been completed for the first two sections, thus facilitating the rapid intervention of the future successful bidders.

"We have also started the relocation of medium and low voltage power lines," says the official. The construction of the Guercif-Nador motorway will help open up the northeastern region of Morocco and ensure connectivity with the new Nador West-Med port. Its cost is estimated at at least 7.9 billion dirhams. "This project will profoundly reshape the economic and social dynamics of the Oriental region," says Zouhir Bensebou, provincial director of Equipment, Water and Logistics.

He stressed that the travel time between Guercif and the port of Nador will be reduced by 45 minutes, which represents a valuable gain for the transport of goods and the integration of logistics chains. "This strategic link with the future Nador West Med port, which should start its activities in 2026, will strengthen the competitiveness of industrial and agricultural exports," confirms Bensebou. And to add: "This infrastructure is a factor of attractiveness for high value-added sectors."