The Moroccan people is celebrating tomorrow Tuesday the 32nd anniversary of the "Green March" that helped the North African country peacefully retrieve its Southern Provinces (the Sahara) from Spain under the Madrid accords signed in 1975 by Morocco, Spain and Mauritania.
Thirty-two years after this historical event, the region can be proud of its socioeconomic development and its ongoing projects.
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 countr