Construction & Real Estate
From The Report: Morocco 2015
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After a slowdown in recent years, Morocco’s construction industry saw a return to growth in 2014 and continues to be driven by strong demand for housing, public spending on infrastructure and investor incentives from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Policy – though constraints on credit access are restricting the volume of new developments. A unified construction code designed to raise standards, improve transparency, boost competition and reduce the incidence of informal building – which makes up 25% of sector activity, by some estimates – is expected to come into force in 2015. Real estate activity has closely followed that of construction, with transactions and foreign direct investment both increasing in 2014, though prices remained stable. Government incentives for development in the low-income and mid-range segments are designed to close the housing deficit, and a range of mixed-use projects are in the works.

This chapter contains interviews with Mohamed Nabil Benabdallah, Minister of Housing and Urban Policy; and Zhor Kabbaj, Director-General, Softgroup Immobilier.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

State housing and infrastructure projects in Morocco drive growth in construction and real estate
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After a slowdown in recent years, the construction industry – one of the country’s most dynamic sectors – saw a return to growth in 2014. Strong demand for housing, public spending on infrastructure and incentives from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Policy ( Ministère de l’Habitat et de la Politique de la Ville, MHU) have continued to help drive sector activity, although access to credit continues to restrict the volume of new developments. The industry is anticipating stronger growth…

Interview

Mohamed Nabil Benabdallah, Minister of Housing and Urban Policy: Interivew
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Interview:Mohamed Nabil Benabdallah What can be done to reduce the housing deficit? MOHAMED NABIL BANABDALLAH: The housing deficit has decreased significantly in recent years, going from 840,000 units in 2012 to 642,000 in 2014. The objective is now to reach 400,000 units in 2016. This progress has largely been the result of increased private sector involvement, particularly with regards to its participation in social housing programmes and efforts to expand low-income residential housing. A…

Interview

Zhor Kabbaj, Director-General, Softgroup Immobilier: Interview
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Interview: Zhor Kabbaj What challenges do real estate promoters face? ZHOR KABBAJ: The main difficulty is not simply access to land; it is access to authorised land. There have been major advances in recent years in facilitating access to authorisation processes, through the creation of a single government office and the implementation of digital systems at municipal centres. Major obstacles have been eliminated, and now perhaps the biggest challenge in accessing land is price. Land often belongs…

Overview

Mixed-use developments and cities sign of economic recovery in Morocco
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A drop in real estate activity in the years following the global financial crisis marked an end to the sector’s boom years, but the industry has shown signs of a sustained recovery more recently. Transactions and foreign direct investment (FDI) both increased in 2014, although prices on average remained stable. The sector continues to be buoyed by government incentives to attract real estate development and construction projects in the low-income and mid-range segments in order to respond to a…