Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion Enhances Investments in Southern Regions with Major Projects in Laayoune and Dakhla
The Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion (CDG) is actively implementing an ambitious investment strategy in the southern regions of the Kingdom, primarily focusing on the cities of Laayoune and Dakhla. This new approach aims to enhance economic, urban, and technological development in Moroccan Sahara, while reaffirming the role of the CDG as a driver for long-term public investment.
Khaled Sefri, the General Director of the CDG, stated during a meeting with national media representatives that Laayoune and Dakhla have become strategic priorities for the fund. He emphasized that the current phase marks a shift in the investment vision of the group by creating a stimulating environment for private investment and integrated development.
This direction relies on the CDG’s involvement in major infrastructure projects, foremost among them the Tiznit-Laayoune-Dakhla expressway, which Sefri described as a structural project that reshapes the map of exchanges between the northern and southern parts of the Kingdom. The project aims to facilitate mobility, boost trade exchanges, and support the economic dynamism of the region.
Additionally, the CDG is participating in the development of an integrated industrial and logistics hub at Phosboucraa, located in the Laayoune region, with a financial contribution nearing 2 billion dirhams within a total investment program of 23 billion dirhams. The project includes expanding the phosphate mine’s production capacity, building a new export-dedicated port, and establishing a high-value-added fertilizer production unit.
In the technological sector, the CDG is preparing to launch two significant projects, which involve creating technology valleys in both Laayoune and Dakhla. The goal is to establish centers for innovation and strategic industries, attract international investments, and generate local job opportunities.
On the urban front, the CDG intends to construct a new urban center in Dakhla, spanning nearly 30 hectares, which will include a central square, commercial zones, offices, and a hotel. This initiative aims to enhance the city’s attractiveness and improve living conditions, in line with the urban experiences the CDG has amassed in several cities, including Hay Ryad in Rabat, Casablanca-Anfa, and the eco-city Zenata.
The strategy also involves supporting the tourism sector in the southern regions by contributing to the development of hotel offerings, particularly in Dakhla, where the General Director of the fund affirmed the genuine desire to give a new boost to tourism in the area.
These integrated projects, which encompass infrastructure, urbanization, technology, and tourism, reflect the CDG’s approach of paving the way for the private sector by providing essential investment conditions. This ensures a multiplying effect of public investments and enhances the region’s attractiveness on both national and international levels.
This dynamic lies at the heart of the historical role played by the CDG over decades as a patient investor that has contributed to establishing major industrial and financial frameworks and supporting the emergence of strategic sectors before allowing the private sector to take the lead once projects are mature.
The CDG’s strategy in the southern regions aims to make Moroccan Sahara an emerging economic and technological hub, a new driver for sustainable development, thereby reinforcing its position as a strategic area in the future of the national economy.
