2024-08-03 05:39:55
“In a constant concern for social justice and spatial equity, the ministry has undertaken a series of reforms and legal, institutional and technical measures, with the aim of improving the living conditions of citizens,” noted Ms. El Mansouri in a speech read on her behalf by the Secretary General of the National Housing Council under the said ministry, during an international conference focusing on the theme “Rehabilitation of housing in historic settlements in the Arab region: challenges and opportunities.”
Ms. El Mansouri mentioned the pilot program for the sustainable development of Ksours and kasbahs, launched in 2015 in partnership with the UNDP and targeting 22 Ksours, located in the South-East of the Kingdom and home to 23,000 inhabitants, noting that the rehabilitation and restoration work carried out within the framework of this program was completed in 16 sites, for an amount of nearly 114 million DH, for the benefit of 21,400 inhabitants.
The promulgation of law 94-12 and its implementing decree, she explained, made it possible to bring legal and institutional innovations for intervention in fragile neighborhoods and buildings threatening to collapse, noting that actions within the framework of the city policy have also targeted the living conditions of populations in 16 old fabrics for which 09 agreements were signed for a total cost of 4.46 billion DH.
“All of these measures are part of the forward-looking vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, through the adoption of a new development model that places the improvement of citizens’ living conditions at the center of the economic development process, and in perfect convergence with the recovery of the national economy post-Covid-19,” she said.
On another note, Ms. El Mansouri did not fail to point out that this event constitutes a meeting place for sharing, mutual exchange and debate around an issue as important as the rehabilitation and restoration of old housing, with the aim of proposing efficient and operational solutions and reframing interventions in terms of safeguarding and revaluation of built heritage in historic establishments.
“It is also the right time to explore new opportunities for multilateral cooperation in perfect alignment with Morocco’s strategy of openness and cooperation with all friendly and brotherly countries,” she continued.
Organized by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and UNESCO, in collaboration with the Ministry of National Land Planning, Urban Planning, Housing and Urban Policy, with the support of the Union for the Mediterranean and the Arab Regional Center for World Heritage, this meeting aims to exchange international experiences and highlight good practices and define a roadmap for housing rehabilitation in historic urban settlements in the Arab region.
The conference, which was attended by representatives of national and local authorities with expertise in the fields of governance, urban planning, housing, land and property rights, cultural heritage preservation, tourism, civil society actors, the private sector, investment banks and institutes and universities, is part of a project aimed at taking stock of the housing situation in historic settlements in selected countries in the Arab region, including Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Bahrain, Egypt, Yemen, Jordan, Tunisia, Lebanon and Oman.
The project also aims to define the solutions needed to prevent or reverse the degradation or disappearance of historic establishments, and to propose pilot projects to test these solutions.
2024-08-03 05:39:55