Tangier’s Renaissance: Economic Boom Draws Global Creatives to Morocco’s Gateway City

In an article published on September 23, The Times highlights the potential of Tangier. What remains of this Tangier city cherished by the English, where from his house overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar, Patrick Thursfield witnessed the last days of this Tangier British community, which welcomed its guests in caftans while serving them gin and tonics?, questions the British magazine. "For the past ten years, it has been experiencing an economic boom that is accelerating as 2030 approaches, the year the city will be one of those hosting the World Cup football matches," comments the publication, noting that the city’s transformation has been underway since the enthronement of King Mohammed VI in 1999.

"Since 2003, it is estimated that $10 billion has been injected into the region, which has allowed the expansion of the Tanger Med Port to make it the largest in the Mediterranean," the magazine specifies. In 2018, a "high-speed rail line connecting Tangier to Rabat and Casablanca, the industrial center of the kingdom, was launched. The city is home to a thriving textile industry, a carbon-neutral Renault plant, the largest in Africa, and renewable energy giants that have established wind farms nearby. And the development of the city continues to accelerate. This is evidenced by the "cranes (that) rise above the city’s football stadium, in order to expand it for 2030 and the Africa Cup of Nations next year, which Morocco will host," and the many recent renovations of the medina and the kasbah of Tangier, in the historic center.

The cultural aspect has not been neglected either. Tangier is experiencing its own "cultural renaissance and clings to its sustainable and particular spirit," explains Kenza Bennani, founder of the fashion brand New Tangier, estimating that "the city is not dominated by an elite, but it is much freer artistically." Several cultural projects are being implemented. One of them is Yto Barrada’s "Motherhood" project, which revives traditional craftsmanship. "Think Tanger and Kiosk", a non-profit organization, founded by Hicham Bouzid, and equipped with a bookstore, is also playing its part.