Prospective study for the management of urban public services in the new eco-city of Zenata
Context
The Eco-city of Zenata is a flagship project carried out by the Moroccan government. This project consists in creating a new city, which should welcome 300,000 inhabitants by 2030 in the suburbs of Casablanca. It covers 1,660 hectares on the territory of the municipality of Aïn Harrouda and aims at resolving the existing socio-economic imbalances between the East and West of the "Grand Casa" region. The design and investments for the development of the Zenata Eco-City are carried out by the Planning Agency of Zenata (SAZ), a subsidiary of the Caisse des Dépôts et de Gestion (CDG).
The SAZ will then hand over the territory's equipment to the Municipality of Aïn Harrouda, which will manage it. One of the major challenges for the sustainability of the operation therefore relies in the Municipality's ability to manage urban services and operate the facilities, infrastructure and superstructure equipment under its remit.
SAZ has obtained a contribution from the European Union under the Neighbourhood Investment Facility (NIF). These funds have been delegated to AFD in order to finance a technical cooperation programme divided into 3 parts: (i) support to the sustainable city approach; (ii) support on the management of social and environmental aspects; (iii) support for public policy in new cities. The prospective study on the management of urban services in the Zenata eco-city is part of this last component.
Objective
SAZ has obtained a contribution from the European Union under the Neighbourhood Investment Facility (NIF). These funds have been delegated to AFD in order to finance a technical cooperation programme divided into 3 parts:
- Support to the sustainable city approach;
- Support on the management of social and environmental aspects of the project;
- Support for public policy in new cities.
The prospective study on the management of urban services in the Zenata eco-city is part of this last component.
Our contribution
We have led the following activities in close coordination with the SAZ, the municipality of Ain Harrouda and the project’s partners :
- Diagnosis of the municipality’s current economic and financial situation, and analysis of the organisation of the services – this was done in order to evaluate the municipality’s capacity in managing urban services from a technical and financial point of view;
- Prospective analysis of the future investment and operating income and expenditure, in the context of the implementation of development plans in the municipality of Aïn Harrouda (including the eco-city);
- Analysis of the impact of the planned projects on the financial situation of the municipality of Aïn Harrouda;
- Analysis and proposition of urban services management models: financial & contractual framework, financial modelling of the different management models, estimation of the costs etc ;
- Definition of a capacity-building plan focusing on financial, technical, and human resources of the municipality of Ain Harrouda.
Our study made it possible (i) to define with the SAZ and the local authorities a strategy for the sustainable development and sustainable operation of the future city and (ii) to specify the modalities for the creation of a Local Development Company (LDC) in charge of managing the urban services in the territory.
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