As announced on Yabiladi in February 2024, the road construction project between Es-Smara and Mauritania is progressing. Royal Armed Forces drones will ensure the security of the 53 km stretch. Details. After El Guerguerate, Morocco is determined to open a second commercial passage with Mauritania. The 53-kilometer road section connecting the two countries is beginning to take shape. Work on this project, discreetly launched in February 2024 by the Royal Armed Forces (FAR), is well advanced according to photos consulted by Yabiladi. All that remains is the bitumen road surfacing before it can be opened to car and truck traffic from Es-Smara to the Mauritanian border. The Ministry of Equipment is working on the construction of national road No. 17, connecting Jederia, Farsia, and Mahbes over 128 km, and on building the roadway of national roads No. 17 and 17B between Es-Smara and the Mauritanian border over 53 km, with a total investment of 215 million dirhams. This official figure was provided during a recent visit by the Minister of Equipment and Water, Nizar Baraka, to the Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra region. Security of the route entrusted to FAR The road project is made possible thanks to the extension of the Sand Wall, built following the operation conducted on November 13, 2020, at El Guerguerate by the Moroccan army, with Nouakchott's approval, to secure the border with Mauritania against incursions by Polisario elements. «The Royal Armed Forces are also tasked with ensuring security against potential Front attacks. FAR drones will monitor the 53 km between Es-Smara and Mauritania», a Moroccan security source tells Yabiladi. Residents of the three Sahara regions are eagerly awaiting the completion of this road. Last March, a Sahrawi MP from PAM, Sidi Saleh El Idrissi, addressed a written question on this subject to the Ministers of Interior, Abdelouafi Laftite, and Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita. The parliamentarian wanted to know the nature of measures taken by Morocco to ensure the prompt opening of a new commercial passage with Mauritania, following El Guerguerate. The MP stated that due to its geographical position, «the city of Es-Smara could constitute an ideal passage for Sahel states to access the Atlantic Ocean, in accordance with King Mohammed VI's will», expressed on November 6, 2023. This written question was preceded by a meeting held on February 21 in Rabat between Nizar Baraka and his Mauritanian counterpart, Mohamed Aly Ould Sidi Mohamed. This project was first revealed in September 2018 by former Minister of Equipment and Transport, Abdelkader Amara, during a visit to the Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra region. However, security and political conditions were not yet conducive to its implementation. It took the November 13, 2020, operation at El Guerguerate for circumstances to change. The Polisario has since been denied access to what it calls the «liberated territories». A high-ranking Front official even revealed that «the Sahrawi republic has lost 40 km² of these liberated territories».
