The Head of Government, Aziz Akhannouch, affirmed today, Monday, in the House of Representatives, that the southern provinces of the Kingdom are experiencing “an unprecedented development boom,” highlighting that the development and investment dynamics are “comprehensive across various fields, especially the development of the road infrastructure network, which has increased from less than 70 kilometers to more than 4,000 kilometers in the Moroccan Sahara.”

Speaking before the deputies during the monthly session dedicated to questioning the head of government on the topic of: “General policy relating to development and investment in the southern provinces of the Kingdom,” Akhannouch recalled that “the development dynamics in the southern provinces of the Kingdom tangibly demonstrate the validity of the royal choices,” especially after the adoption of the new development model for the southern provinces, which aims to “place the human being at the heart of its priorities.”

This development model, according to Akhannouch, reflects “a forward-looking vision for integrated and sustainable regional development, and ensures the contribution of local actors to territorial programs and policies at the level of the three southern regions.” It is “an innovative model that includes key axes that have had promising prospects in developing infrastructure and basic facilities, and in attracting investments and creating job opportunities at an initial financial cost of no less than 77 billion dirhams.”

The Prime Minister stressed that “since the current government was inaugurated, work has been underway to accelerate the implementation of various projects related to this development model, which constitutes a real pillar for achieving transitional development transformations in our southern regions.”

The unity of the Moroccan people

Akhannouch began his speech by expressing appreciation and praise for King Mohammed VI’s decision to make October 31 of each year a new national holiday called “Unity Day,” and said that this came “in consideration of the historic transformation that the issue of the Moroccan Sahara has undergone, which enshrines the firmly established national and territorial unity.”

He added: “This national holiday commemorates a small part of the journey of His Majesty the King, the inspiring leader in whom courageous national stances were embodied, which made our country a model to be emulated in stability, progress and defense of sovereignty, and a message about the unity of the Moroccan people with all its vital forces and their mobilization behind the wise royal leadership.”

Akhannouch explained that “Unity Day also means prioritizing the interests of the nation above all other interests, for the nation is supreme and nothing is above it,” adding: “This holiday does not only mean a moment of national consensus, but it embodies the true meaning of the policy of extending a hand to our brothers in the regional neighborhood to build a great, strong and prosperous Morocco and to turn the page on the past.”

Tiznit-Dakhla highway

In detailing investment projects in the Moroccan Sahara, Akhannouch highlighted the Tiznit-Dakhla highway project, describing it as"one of the most prominent royal structuring projects." Stretching 1,100 kilometers, the highway has a total cost of nearly 10 billion dirhams. He explained that this strategic project"will enable more than 2.5 million citizens in the southern provinces to directly benefit from it, thus strengthening the integration of these regions into the national economic cycle."

The government official added that “the highway is a qualitative addition in supporting economic and social development, as it provides smooth movement between the north and south of the Kingdom, and contributes to strengthening ties between Morocco and its African depth, in line with the royal vision aimed at making the southern regions a bridge for regional and African cooperation.”

Akhannouch noted that his government is continuing to “implement the Dakhla Atlantic Port project, which is one of the most important structuring infrastructure projects in southern Morocco,” and stated that “the investment cost has exceeded 13 billion dirhams, with the progress of the works reaching about 42%,” stressing that this project embodies the royal will to “make Dakhla a leading maritime hub and a center for economic activity and Morocco’s strategic openness towards Africa.”

He continued, saying: “The Dakhla Atlantic Port will play pivotal roles in creating job opportunities and attracting national and foreign investments, as well as contributing to launching a new territorial dynamic that combines productive economic development, job opportunities, and the continental and international influence of the Kingdom.”

Green hydrogen investments

In the same context, Akhannouch revealed new developments in the southern regions in the field of renewable energies, stating that “Morocco has chosen seven major projects to produce green hydrogen with a total capacity of up to 20 gigawatts, with investments exceeding $36 billion, most of which are concentrated in the Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab and Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra regions,” which will make the south of the Kingdom “a strategic center for the production of green hydrogen derivatives, such as ammonia, clean fuels and green steel, and strengthen Morocco’s position as a key player in the global energy transition.”

The Prime Minister stated that these projects fall “within the framework of the development boom that the southern regions are experiencing in the field of renewable energies, within the framework of the 2025-2030 electricity infrastructure plan, with a total capacity of ongoing projects exceeding 1400 megawatts, with investments exceeding 15 billion dirhams,” and that “renewable energies currently represent about 77% of the total production capacity in these regions.”

He continued: “The Office Chérifien des Phosphates (OCP) is implementing a massive industrial program at the Phosboucraa site in Laayoune, extending until 2026. This program includes expanding the mine, establishing a new washing plant and a complex for fertilizers and chemicals, in a move that strengthens the industrial role of the southern provinces in the national economy.”

He also noted “the new phosphate port project in Laayoune, for which a budget of nearly 7.982 million dirhams has been allocated, and its completion rate has reached 93%,” highlighting that “the OCP Group relies on wind energy for 99% of its energy needs and uses desalinated water completely, in full harmony with the national trend towards sustainable industrial development in the Moroccan Sahara.”

According to Akhannouch, these “major investments in the fields of green hydrogen, clean energy and sustainable industry constitute a practical translation of the royal vision aimed at making the southern regions an integrated economic space, and a major driver of integrated development and the green future of the Kingdom.”

104 health centers and two university hospitals

During his monthly briefing before the nation's representatives, the head of government affirmed that the southern regions of the Kingdom are experiencing a qualitative leap in the development and expansion of their health infrastructure, embodying the royal vision aimed at democratizing the right to health and ensuring human dignity for all Moroccans.

During the monthly session dedicated to the topic of “Development of the Southern Regions of the Kingdom,” Akhannouch highlighted that the government is “racing against time to launch a series of health projects and programs in various regions of the Kingdom,” noting that the southern regions have “made tangible progress in upgrading health infrastructure,” through a project to rehabilitate more than 104 primary healthcare institutions, distributed across the regions of Guelmim-Oued Noun, Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra and Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab.

He added that “rehabilitation work has been completed in 87 health institutions, while work is continuing in 17 others, reflecting the state’s keenness to bring health services closer to citizens and improve access to treatment, within the framework of spatial justice and equal opportunities,” recalling “the progress of work in completing two large university hospitals in the southern regions, which fall within the new generation of integrated health structures.”

The first is the University Eye Hospital, with a capacity of 500 beds and a total cost of 2.36 billion dirhams, expected to open before the end of this year. The second is the University Hospital of Guelmim, with a capacity of 500 beds and a cost of nearly 2 billion dirhams,"expected to be completed by the end of 2026."

The Prime Minister affirmed that the two hospitals together “will form a fundamental pillar for the formation of medical personnel and support for scientific research in the health field in the south, thus enhancing the prominence of the southern regions as a vital area for health and scientific development.”

The southern regions are witnessing a continuous expansion in health services through regional and local projects, including the “Regional Hospital in Tarfaya with a capacity of 70 beds, the Regional Hospital in Sidi Ifni with a capacity of 120 beds, the local hospital in the same region with a capacity of 45 beds, in addition to the Regional Hospital in Dakhla with a capacity of 80 beds, as well as two psychiatric departments in Guelmim and Dakhla with a capacity of 30 beds each.”

The Prime Minister also stressed “the aspirations of the southern regions, with a view to 2027, to strengthen their health network by establishing the Mohammed VI Foundation for Health Sciences, which will include an integrated university health complex in Dakhla with a capacity of 300 beds, which will consolidate the region’s position as an advanced university medical hub at the regional and national levels.”