Priority was given to the fisheries sector that achieved a turnover of USD 1.2Bn in 2005 compared to USD 900Mn two years ago. This result was achieved notably thanks to the USD 115Mn program that provided for the creation of 7 fisheries villages and three unloading points.
The region has two important ports; Foum El Oued port destined to the export of phosphates and Laayoune port that has become the largest national port for coastal fisheries with a 500-unit fleet. The port generates 40% of the national production of fish and seafood and provides more than 20,000 job opportunities. It is also destined to the export of some products notably fish and sand, and the import of others mainly fuel.
In the housing sector, Some 35,000 social housing units have been built since 1999 when late king Hassan II launched a USD 165Mn program to build 20,000 housing units.
In a bid to improve the living conditions of the region inhabitants, the authorities set up another USD 180Mn program to relocate 40,000 families in the region.
In parallel to the demographic and urban development of the region, a particular attention was paid to the health sector. In 1994, the region hosted the second largest multidisciplinary hospital in the country -the multidisciplinary hospital of Hassan II- which ensured the region’s autonomy in medical services.
In the education field, the authorities are keen to catch up with the inherited delay in the region, where the literacy rate is higher than the national average.
King Mohammed VI has reiterated, during his visits to the region, his resolve to consolidate regionalization through an integrated development approach and promised to follow the ongoing projects in person.
In order to endow the region with a democratic, decentralized and decentralized management, the sovereign announced during his visit to the region in March 2002, the creation of the Special Agency for the Promotion and Development of the Southern Provinces, to ensure the socioeconomic development of the region.
The Agency devised a USD 920Mn program that encompasses 226 projects over the 2004-2008 period. The projects touch on various fields, notably housing, fisheries, water and environment, roads, infrastructure, tourism, industry, handicraft, agriculture and livestock farming. These projects will create 20,000 jobs.
350,000 volunteers, including 10% of women, armed with the sole Koran and faith, coming from all the regions of the Kingdom converged to Tarfaya (southwest) where they waited for the signal of the late King, who in a speech to the nation, on November 5, 1975, okayed the starting of the march.
On Thursday, November 6, 1975, the Moroccan flag was hoisted on the Sahara. Marchers turned to the direction of Mecca and thanked the Almighty for the retrieval of the territory, which was an important stage in the completion of the Moroccan territorial integrity.
The liberation of the provinces, known as the Sahara, was made in the wake of the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on October 16, 1975, that confirmed that the Sahara was not a "Terra nullius" and that there have been legal and allegiance between the Kingdom of Morocco and the territory.