Tangier’s Risky Real Estate: Experts Warn of Flood Dangers in New Waterfront Developments

The city of Tangier has issued a real estate developer, after consultation with the Loukkos Hydraulic Basin Agency (ABHL), a building permit for a building consisting of two underground garages and 15 floors of offices, near a waterway in the city, reports Al3omk, specifying that the building to be constructed should extend from this area to the municipal beach of Tangier.

The local authorities have also granted a permit for the construction of a building near a waterway in the Mesnana region, after the favorable opinion of a committee bringing together representatives of the urban planning department of the prefecture, the Urban Agency and the Loukkos Basin Agency. The contractor was authorized to build the building on the condition of respecting a distance of eight meters from the waterway and erecting a concrete wall, the same sources report.

These building permit authorizations raise concerns among real estate experts and urban planners. According to an urban planning specialist, construction less than 10 meters from waterways presents risks, adding that the opinion of the Loukkos Basin Agency is not sufficient to grant a building permit in areas near waterways and that a technical committee of experts should first rule.

The expert mentions in particular the risks of cracks in the walls of the buildings during periods of heavy rainfall, causing water levels to rise in the waterways due to their small diameter. For its part, the Tangier Real Estate Developers Association has assured, through several press releases, to ensure compliance with environmental and urban principles in green areas. The construction sites opened in these areas seem to prove the opposite.