Morocco Plans Landmark Ouarzazate-Marrakech Tunnel, Seeks Investment Fund Backing

The managers of the project to build a tunnel connecting Ouarzazate to Marrakech are betting on the Mohammed VI Fund to guarantee the financial arrangement. According to the Minister of Equipment and Water, Nizar Baraka, it is now a question of setting up a public-private partnership for the financing of the project. Hence the importance of calling on the Mohammed VI Fund set up a few months ago. The interest of the project managers in the instrument dedicated to strategic investment is also explained by its capacities in terms of fundraising from national and international investors to contribute to the financing of structuring investment projects.

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In January, the final route between Ouarzazate and Marrakech was unveiled. In his response to a written question from RNI deputy from Ouarzazate, Youssef Chiri, Nizar Baraka, Minister of Equipment, had presented, in April 2022, the results of the preliminary studies dedicated to the project of a tunnel connecting Ouarzazate to Marrakech, which cover two routes. With a total cost of 7 billion dirhams, the first is 5.5 km long, and will pass through the Tichka pass on the N9 national road. This route requires the development of 8.5 km of roads and the construction of a bridge. With a total cost of 10 billion dirhams, the second tunnel route, which is 10 kilometers long, requires the development of 80 km of roads and the construction of 10 bridges.