Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch made a field visit to the province of Ouarzazate on Friday to review the progress of several economic and social development projects.
Akhannouch was accompanied during this visit by several senior officials, including the Minister of Health and Social Protection, Khalid Ait Taleb, the Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, Abdellatif Miraoui , the Minister of Equipment and Water, Nizar Baraka, the Minister of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development and Water and Forests, Mohammed Sadiki and the Minister of Tourism, Handicrafts and of the Social and Solidarity Economy, Fatim-Zahra Ammor.
The head of government began his visit by going to the Sidi Hssaien Provincial Hospital Center, located in the center of Ouarzazate, which benefited from extension and upgrading works at a cost of 123 million dirhams, which focused in particular on the opening of a new operating theater and a new intensive care unit.
Akhannouch, who was also accompanied by the wali of the Drâa-Tafilalet region, governor of the province of Errachidia, Yahdih Bouchaab, and the governor of the province of Ouarzazate, Abderrazak El Mansouri, then followed a presentation of the creation of a multidisciplinary hospital in the province of Ouarzazate.
In addition, the head of government followed a presentation of the program for the development of mountain tourism and oases in the province of Ouarzazate, endowed with a budget of 283 million dirhams, as well as a presentation of the projects of the program of emergency 2023-2024 for the development of mountain tourism and oases in the province of Ouarzazate.
With a budget of 102 million dirhams, the 2023-2024 emergency program for the development of mountain tourism and oases in the province of Ouarzazate concerns the upgrading of world-renowned tourist sites (1st tranche), the development of panoramic stations in the oases, the enhancement of Ksours, Kasbahs and the cinematographic circuit, as well as the development of areas for the enhancement of heritage in meteorites and dinosaur fossils.
In a statement to the press, the Minister of Tourism, Handicrafts and the Social and Solidarity Economy stressed that the visit made by the Head of Government at the head of a large ministerial delegation bears witness to the importance granted by the government to the Drâa-Tafilalet region, particularly in terms of tourism.
“The Drâa-Tafilalet region has characteristics that give it many attractions and tourist potential”, she noted, recalling that the government had allocated a budget of 1.4 billion dirhams for the development of the tourist potential of this region after having signed an agreement to this effect at the start of 2023.
According to the minister, the government is also working on a roadmap intended to strengthen road and air links serving the region and to accelerate the development of oasis tourism.
After the implementation of the projects of the 2023-2024 emergency program for the development of mountain tourism and oases in the province of Ouarzazate, the projects of the complementary program 2025-2027 will be launched, at a cost of 181 million dirhams, according to a press release from the Head of Government’s Department.
This complementary program concerns the enhancement of world-renowned tourist sites (2nd tranche), support for artisanal weaving in Tazenakht, and the promotion of the film industry in the city.
The head of government chaired, this Friday, the signing ceremony of two partnership agreements on the development of a university center and the creation of a Higher School of Technology in the province of Ouarzazate.
Aziz Akhannouch’s visit to the Drâa-Tafilalet region at the head of a large ministerial delegation, which the city of Errachidia began on Thursday, is in line with the royal guidelines and the government program aimed at enshrining regionalization in as a development choice and to help reduce spatial and social disparities.
It also enshrines the government strategy aimed at strengthening the policy of proximity to citizens, as a pillar of development in our country, through the effective participation of regions and local authorities in the creation of integrated development.