Presentation of the region

Location

Situated in the Northeast of Morocco, the Oriental region borders the Mediteranean Sea in the North and and the Pre-Sahara in the South. In the West the region is contained by the central Rif and in the East by the Algerian border. It covers an area of 82,820km2, over 11.6% of the whole country. The region is made up of one prefecture, Oujda-Angdad, and five provinces: Nador, Berkane, Taourirt, Jerada and Figuig.

Population

The region has a population of 1,908,908 (2004 census), of which 61.6% live in urban areas. The population density is 23 inhabitants per km2. The population is quite young; 49.9% of the region’s inhabitants are less than 25 years old.

28.3 % of Moroccans living abroad come from the Oriental region.

Infrastructure

The development of the Oriental region is a top priority for the national government. This is why a series of significant infrastructure projects have been launched such as:

• The Fès - Oujda highway with a length of 320 km (cost: 818 million €). Construction works have started in 2007, completion is expected by 2010.
• The Mediterranean coastal highway will connect Tanger with Saïdia and is to be completed by the end of 2008.
• The expansion of the Oujda - Nador road on a section of 120 km (completion due in 2008-2009).
• The train connection between Taourirt and Beni Nsar (harbour of Nador), which will connect Nador to the entire national railroad network.
• The “MarChica” project in Nador, a coastal tourism complex amounting to 1 billion €.

According to Moroccan authorities, the industrial development complex “MED EST” for the Oriental region is expected to generate investments of 2.3 billion €. It is made up of various components which will soon be operational:

• a free trade area of 20 hectares in the harbour of Nador (Beni Nsar)
• a free trade area (50 to 300 hectares) near the harbour
• the industrial zone of Selouane (72 hectares) near Nador
• the industrial zone of Madagh in the Berkane province
• a technological development centre adjacent to the airport of Oujda (370 hectares)

See also: Large Infrastructure Projects in the Oriental Region

Promising investment sectors

• Tourism and related activities : Saïdia: The “Méditerrania Saïdia project” is a tourism- and residential project in Saïdia, a picturesque locality on the Moroccan Mediterranean coast. The facility has some 30,000 beds, out of which 3,000 account for luxury residencies. “Méditerrania Saïdia” also disposes of three golf courses, a shopping centre, a marina, a clinic as well as a variety of services. The first big wave of tourists is expected for 2009.

  The capital expenditure for the project amounts to 1.1 billion €. There are lots of investment opportunities in related activities such as restaurants, leisure time activities, tourist excursions, car rental, transportation, etc.

• Agriculture
  There are lot of investment opportunities for bio-produce, fresh vegetables for export, animal farming, fruit trees and viniculture.

• Fishing
  Packaging, conservation and processing of all types of seafood as well as breeding of fish with added value are promising sectors.

• Industry
  Sub-orders (for the European market) ranging from all types of small processing to heavy industry are likely to be lucrative in the free trade areas that are being set up in Nador.

• Services
  Opportunities arise in the tourism and business sectors, for example consulting for management, human resources, security, transport and the environment. Call-centres are also a promising market because the salaries for staff are moderate and the population of Oriental often has very good foreign language skills (especially French, German and Spanish).

Transportation

Roads:
With 5,011 km of roads corresponding to 13.6% of the country’s road network, the region is very well connected to the rest of the Kingdom. A national highway leads to Fès, Meknès, Rabat and Casablanca.

Train:
The two major train connections are Oujda - Casablanca and Oujda - Bouarfa (southern Province of Figuig).

Airplane:
Flight connections to Europe run regularly via the international airports of Oujda - Angad and Nador - Al Aroui. In fact, with regard to air travel the region is better connected to Europe than to other parts of Morocco. It is currently being debated whether the small airport of Bouarfa in the South of the region (Figuig Province) should also host flights to Europe.

The following airlines fly to Nador and Oujda from Europe (as per November 2008):

Ryan Air http://www.ryanair.com

Atlas Blue/ Royal Air Maroc : http://www.atlas-blue.com/

During peak season (July-August) many more flights are scheduled.

Mexwings Airlines : http://www.mexwings.com/

Iberia has daily flights to Melilla (the Spanish enclave in the Nador province) from the Spanish cities of Almeria, Granada-Jaén, Madrid and Barcelona.

Boat:
Merchandise can be shipped to Europe via the international harbour of Nador (Beni Nsar). For fishing, the “Cap de l’Eau” harbour in Ras el Ma, halfway between Nador and Saïdia, is convenient. Maritime transportation is also possible trough the harbour of Melilla, the Spanish enclave in the province of Nador. This harbour offers regular connections to Almeria and Malaga. Tourism providers will soon have access to the marina of Saïdia. For passenger traffic many ferries go from Nador or Melilla to the South of France and the South of Spain.

The information has been retrieved from the websites of the Regional Development Agency Oriental, „Agence de l’Oriental“ (www. oriental.ma) and of the Regional Investment Centre in Oujda (www.orientalinvest.ma). We have translated it and given it a new layout. For further information, please send an e-mail to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it