Morocco’s King Launches $70 Million Restoration of UNESCO-Listed Fez Medina

Amounting to 670 million dirhams, this new generation program reflects the King’s constant desire to preserve the architectural and historical character of the Medina of Fez, and to promote the influence of this Millennium City, inscribed in 1981 on the World Heritage List of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The new program specifically concerns 1197 sites.

The Sovereign visited the restoration site of Foundouq Khrachfiyine, a project that is part of the complementary program to enhance the Medina of Fez (2018-2023). With a budget of 583 MDH, it involves the restoration of 11 historic monuments and iconic sites, 10 places of worship (mosques and Koranic schools) and 40 wellness facilities (hammams, fountains and sanitary facilities), the rehabilitation of 39 craft and traditional trade sites, the improvement of the urban landscape and the built environment (17 sites) and the rehabilitation of Dar Al Makina. To date, 18 projects have already been completed, 17 are under construction, 38 are being launched and 45 will be launched before the end of the current year.

Another program for the development of parking lots, the rehabilitation of public spaces and the installation of an information system (2017-2022) is underway.

In sum, these programs follow those already carried out, which had focused on the restoration of 27 historic monuments, including madrasas, foundouks, bridges, souks, tanneries, and bordjs, as well as the treatment of more than 2,200 dilapidated buildings in the old Medina.