1.8 million people to benefit from simplified building permit procedures in rural Morocco

Housing and Urban Policy Minister Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri said Monday in Rabat that 1.8 million people have benefited from simplified procedures for obtaining building permits in rural areas.

Speaking before the House of Representatives, the minister said the number of beneficiaries had increased from 550,000 before the introduction of a circular defining the boundaries of rural settlements, known as douars, to 1.8 million today.

Under the new rules, residents can obtain building permits without having to meet minimum land-area requirements. The number of officially delimited douars has risen from 975 to 4,698, while the area covered has expanded from 15,000 to 130,000 hectares.

The reform has also led to a sharp increase in permit applications. The number of files processed climbed from 52,855 before the circular was issued to 193,423, while projects receiving favorable opinions rose from 28,103 to more than 111,000.

El Mansouri noted that the number of housing projects increased from 22,844 to 62,200, with 68% involving plots smaller than 1,000 square meters. The total investment generated by these projects grew from MAD 10 billion to MAD 110 billion.

The minister added that 84% of rural communes are now covered by urban planning documents, while 145 development plans for rural settlements have been approved.