Approval of 847 Construction Projects in Rural Areas, 600% Increase – Minister

The number of construction projects in rural areas approved after the publication in 2023 of the joint circular with the Ministry of the Interior has reached 847 projects, Minister of National Planning, Urban Development, Housing and City Policy Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri said on Monday in Rabat. Responding to an oral question at the House of Representatives, El Mansouri stressed that this figure was “up 600% compared to previous periods”, noting that the authorizations had been granted after the study of 1,792 construction applications in rural areas. She added that the measures contained in the joint circular between the Ministry of National Land Planning, Urban Development, Housing and City Policy and the Ministry of the Interior had enabled “positive results to be achieved at national level, with the demarcation of the perimeters of 3,166 douars over a total area of 78,000 hectares, benefiting 1.455 million people, an increase of 224%”. El Mansouri noted that, despite these efforts, the main problem hampering the granting of building permits in rural areas relates to land and property documents, stressing that this “represents a challenge for urban agencies and local authorities in the procedure for granting building permits”. In this regard, the Minister pointed out that draft law no. 90/12 on urban planning was “ready and under consultation with the partners concerned”, alongside the draft law on urban agencies, which includes a special section for the rural world.