Morocco's high-tech city Tanger Tech Mohammed VI is expected to create 100,000 jobs and attract investments worth $10 billion, head of the northern Tangier-Tetouan-Alhoceima region Ilyas El Omari told Reuters on Monday. The city is expected to see light after Moroccan bank BMCE Bank signed a memorandum of understanding, in April, with engineering company China Communications Construction (CCCC) to build the city, located in Tangier. The agreement comes after Chinese Haite Group withdrew from the deal signed with BMCE, after it promised to build the city, the same source said. «There were disagreements over ownership of the new city among other issues», Ilyas El Omari explained, stressing that Morocco's «partner is Chinese but this does not mean that the city will be Chinese». Quoting El Omari, the British news agency reveals that Morocco is yet to discuss with CCCC its ownership percentage. «The number of applications by international companies to invest in the city exceeds the surface area that we have planned», he added. The Tanger Tech Mohammed VI city will be built in the span of three phases and would cover «up to 700 hectares (1,730 acres) out of 2,000 hectares (4,940 acres) in total». It is not the first time that El Omari addresses issues related to the high-tech city in Tangier. In 2018, Washington-based media company National Public Radio (NPR) revealed that Morocco's «Tech City» had been abandoned by the Chinese Haite Group. El Omari «obliquely admitted there are problems with Haite and explained that there was a disagreement between Morocco and the Chinese company over who would own the city», wrote NPR. For the record, in March 2017 King Mohammed VI presided a ceremony attended by Li Biao, the CEO of the Chinese Haite Group who announced the building of a city and industrial zones that will be designed to host 100 Chinese companies and generate investments.
