Belgian firm to design new city in Morocco

The sleepy town of Nador in the north of Morocco is situated along a lagoon that spans 20 000 hectares in a region with a population of barely 120 000. Apart from a few hamlets scattered throughout there is little more, with hardly any infrastructure or tourism to talk about. A lot of Moroccan immigrants living in Belgium and Europe originate from this area. King Mohammed VI has set his sights on redeveloping and positioning this area as a key tourist centre. The Belgian architectural firm Conix Architects recently designed a master plan for the project of the new city. “As far as size and prestige is concerned, this is our biggest project ever,” says Christine Conix, who hopes to design a number of buildings of the project as well. Conix Architects, with its staff of 50 in Antwerp and Brussels, is well known in the architectural world and its portfolio includes a contract for the Belgian stand at the world expo in Shanghai and the renovation of the Atomium. Conix Architexts is one of the companies that joined the Flemish trade mission to Morocco, that ends its visit today. The mission, led by Flemish minister-president Kris Peeters CD&V, was organised by Flanders Investment & Trade FIT, the Flemish agency geared to boost international trade.