HM King Mohammed VI enquired on Thursday in the municipality of Lahraouiyine in Casablanca, about the slum clearance programme in the Grand Casablanca region, to be completed for a total cost of almost 4.85 billion dirhams.

- The programme will benefit 45,920 families living in slums through  
       building 55,000 housing units
     - The Sovereign presides over the signing ceremony of an agreement on
       building the first phase of operations to rehouse families living in slums.
     - HM the King launches the real estate project of "Al Fadl".   

    On this occasion, Governor and Director General of Casablanca's Urban Agency Mohamed Aouzai presented before HM the King the outline of the programme which will benefit 45,920 families living in slums.

    A fruit of wide consultation between the various partners at both central and regional levels, this program will allow for the building of 55,000 housing units to address social housing shortage in the Grand Casablanca region.

    The programme also provides for the implementation of 14 operations, two of which have already been launched by HM the King in Mohammedia.

    Under this regional programme, thirteen rehousing operations will be ready within 32 months, said Aouzai, noting that the construction works of 8 transactions benefiting 13,880 families will be completed in September 2012.

    To ensure the implementation of this programme in the best conditions, a series of concrete measures have been adopted to provide social and technical support for the beneficiaries notably through the setting-up of local and regional monitoring committees, and creating a single window system for each operation, Aouzai pointed out.

     This programme will contribute to improving the living conditions of a large segment of the Grand Casablanca’s population and enhancing the urban landscape of the metropolis.

     On the same occasion, the Sovereign chaired the signing ceremony of the partnership agreement on the building of the first phase of the operations to rehouse the families living in slums.

    This agreement was signed by Interior Minister, Taieb Cherqaoui, Religious Endowments and Islamic Affairs Minister , Ahmed Toufiq, Housing Minister, Ahmed Taoufiq Hejira, Health Minister, Yasmina Baddou, Education Minister, Ahmed Akhchichine, and Youth and Sports Minister Moncef Belkhayat.

    Thereafter, HM the King launched the real estate project of “Al-Fadl,” worth 293 million dirhams.

    As part of the slum clearance programme in Grand Casablanca, the project aims at constructing 899 plots to rehouse 1,798 families, 151 mixed social plots and 12 others to accommodate nearby public facilities and economic activities.

    Built by the real estate company of Al-Omran on a total area of 40 hectares, the project “Al-Fadl” is part of the “Cities without Slums” programme, one of the key components of the large-scale anti poverty programme, the National Initiative for Human Development.

HM the King sends message to Niger's new President
Niamey - Niger's new President, Mahamadou Issoufou, received on Thursday in Niamey a message from HM the King Mohammed VI.
 The message was handed to Issoufou by State Minister Mohamed El Yazghi who attended the investiture ceremony.

On this occasion, Issoufou reiterated Niger's position in support of Morocco's territorial integrity, expressing commitment to strengthen cooperation ties with Morocco at the economic and political levels.

El Yazghi arrived in Niger early in the day coming from Benin where he attened the oath taking ceremony of President Yayi Boni