Launched by His Majesty King Mohammed VI in 2008, the project aims to develop the site of the lagoon of Marchica and to enhance the natural resources of the region of Nador through the realization of seven thematic cities around the lagoon for an estimated budget. This project will create a pole of competence and sustainable development in harmony with the major projects of the Oriental region. The environmental requirements of the project will contribute to the preservation of the ecological heritage of the Oriental region of the Kingdom.
The first phase of the project consisted in the depollution of the lagoon of Marchica which required an investment of 1.5 billion Dirhams (150 million euros). The depollution work has had an indisputable social impact by mobilizing a local workforce, initiated today to the professions of the environment. The opening of a 1-kilometer-long and 300-meter-wide pass resulted in resourcing and purification of the marine environment, thus restoring the marine ecosystem and returning migratory birds.
The second phase of the project consists of environmental rehabilitation, economic, social and cultural development, territorial development and the realization of the seven cities.