Rabat – Rabat’s new development plan seeks to elevate the city to the level of the world’s leading capitals by meeting the expectations of both residents and visitors. Fatiha El Moudni, President of the Rabat City Council, addressed the press on Friday following a council meeting to explain the vision behind the city’s reconstruction plan, which targets several areas of the capital. El Moudni emphasized that “Rabat deserves the best possible development plan, as it is not just an administrative capital, but also a cultural and tourist hub attracting increasing investment.” The president highlighted the scale and impact of major projects currently underway in the city, noting their significant benefits for both Rabat and the surrounding areas, particularly in terms of job creation. On infrastructure, El Moudni stated that “the public utility expropriation process, carried out across the city’s five districts, aims to expand roads , ease congestion, and improve traffic flow, especially along major arteries.” Addressing real estate sales in areas not subject to public utility expropriation, such as Sania Gharbia in the Océan district , she clarified that these transactions were conducted through consensual agreements on sale prices in favor of the State Property Directorate. The Gharbia neighborhood in the Océan district has seen the demolition of buildings and homes near the sea since December, under the supervision of local authorities. Testimonies from residents, both owners and renters, reveal their surprise at the local authorities’ decision to force them out of the homes they had lived in for years. El Moudni explained that the implementation of Rabat’s development plan requires the application of expropriation for public benefit, which is already underway in several major streets and neighborhoods. She emphasized that the Gharbia neighborhood is not subject to expropriation but rather to a contractual agreement between a seller and a buyer. Additionally, she dismissed rumors about “Gulf entities” being involved, calling them baseless and part of “fallacies” surrounding the issue. El Moudni confirmed that the development plan had been approved, passed all legal stages, and was officially published in the Official Gazette on February 24, 2025. The most important thing is that expropriation concerns all segments of society and affects everyone’s property, whether wealthy or not, she said, adding that there is no district that is not affected by the order.
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