Casablanca : A Wonderful Geography and a Pleasant Climate !

Casablanca is located on the plain of Chawiya, a region whose the main historical activity is related to agriculture, and still counting today as one of the main agricultural centers of Morocco. Its position on the Atlantic coast allows easy access to marine resources (mainly for fishing). Casablanca is surrounded by the huge forest of Bouskoura, which was planted in the twentieth century and consists mostly of Eucalyptus, Pine and Palm. Casablanca has a Mediterranean climate with oceanic strong tendency which is particularly pleasant, promising this way a mild winters and relatively wet and moderately warm summers. The average annual temperature is around 18.88 °C, and the total annual precipitation of 426.1 mm. During winter, the gel is almost absent: the lowest temperature ever recorded was -2.7 ° C. In summer, temperatures are usually pleasant when the wind blows from the sea, however, during episodes of offshore wind the city may record hot temperatures for few days. For instance, the maximum temperature recorded was 40.5 ° C. Surprisingly, the city may record strong temperature gaps that can be observed, particularly in the summer, between the neighborhoods of the sea, and outlying areas, warmer because less exposed to sea breezes.

A Fabulous History

Casablanca or “Casa”, as it is commonly known, is a dynamic showcase of the modern Morocco. It is a serious financial and economic powerhouse of the national economy. Nowadays, it carries up to 50% of the national GDP. Its port drains up to three quarters of national trade; Mohammed V International Airport is the first in the country. The city is also experiencing a continuous metamorphosis of its economy and today deploys its assets in the tertiary sector of services, especially in higher technology. For sure it is common that Casablanca is a modern city and yet it is full of historic legacy. Indeed, a lot of traces of primitive industry have been found in some of its quarters. The remnants of "Casablanca Man" (a altanthrope) were discovered in 1955 by the team of Leroy-Gourhan in the quarry near the marabout Sidi Abderrahman, a few kilometers from the actual city center. The latest excavations have traced dating place over 140,000 years BC. The city also contains other sites (i.e., Lissasfa site) even older dating 5million years ago. Casablanca, called before “Anfa” was one of the main cities of the Kingdom of Bourghwata who established (in 744-1058) a kingdom in the region of Tamesna, on the Atlantic coast between Safi and Salé that was under Al-Matghari’s leadership. In less than 100 years, the small town of Anfa became a metropolis of over four million people and one of the largest cities in Africa. Though Casa was born in the early 19 th century, the site was occupied for a long time ago: remains of a Neolithic settlement were found in Sidi Abderrahmane, near Anfa. In 17 th century, the Phoenicians made the site an ultimate step on the road to Essaouira. The city will experience its resurgence thanks to Sultan Mohammed Ben Abdallah giving it a mosque and Zaouias; as the new name of Dar El-Beida, the "White House."

Casablanca is also an economic Hub !

Being the first economic hub of the Kingdom, and embedding melting pot of various human contributions, Casablanca is still the Moroccan’s most future-oriented city. Casablanca and its region are expected to grow in the projects outlined by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, and in line with the expected effects of the phenomenon of globalization. With perpetual constructions, the city registered its evolution in the context of the required harmony among satisfaction of needs, socio-cultural balance and free competitive spirit. In this regard, "Casablanca, pôle de Competition" is towards of being an ultimate site appreciated by operators, administration officials, researchers, journalists and the general public as well.

CasaNearShore : While seeking for excellence, the Moroccan government has decided a proactive policy aiming the development of Offshoring activities, considered as one of main pillars of “emergence program”. In order to quickly concretize this ambitious project, the adopted short-term strategy, endows our country of zones specially dedicated to Offshoring activities; Being one of the worldwide most natural attractive with a strong content in the spheres of business, the “Région du Grand Casablanca” is already strongly committed. CasaNearShore is the first of these areas and thus represents the centerpiece of the national strategy and offshoring. The CasaNearShore project is a Business Park dedicated to BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) and ITO (Information Technology Outsourcing) activities. This market hosts already a very large number of businesses and continues to explosively grow up, beyond applications like Call Centers. This project has been realized in the Emergence program, a partnership between the Ministry of Industry, Trade and upgrading of the economy, the Wilaya of Greater Casablanca, the city of Casablanca and CDG through its subsidiary MEDZ. CasaNearShore Park is built on land up to 53 ha, located on the road from Casablanca Mohammed V airport, near ISCAE. Its huge size, its location, the quality of its infrastructure, management and promotion give required international visibility and make it the preferred destination for companies operating in the Offshoring field.
PDRT : The regional tourist development program (PDRT), an integral part of the "Plan Mada'in", was signed and launched in March 2006 to His Majesty King Mohammed VI. PDRT program aims to guide the tourism offers through 6 packages: Business, case passage (circuit and cruise), combined (Case / city-break), leisure travel, shopping and health. The program aims to prepare the city to host 1.5 million tourists in 2012, increase overnight accommodations to 3 million, implement infrastructure and facilities for conventions and exhibitions, while globally improving, the urban quality of this destination. The economic and social fallen on the region will benefit, since according to the forecast, 30,000 jobs will be created including 5,000 direct jobs and some MAD 3.2 billion in revenue will be generated each year. The amount of money dedicated to the start of this project is about 8 billion dirhams, including 82% contribution by the private sector; the rest (18%) will be financed by public funds.
Aero City : Let’s fly ! Casablanca, the largest urban national, offers compelling advantages with its large labor pool and quality, a wide network of suppliers and providers of infrastructure to international standards, ensuring logistical connection points near the expected and the presence of more prestigious economic institutions. Being the first implementation of the emergence program related to the aviation industry, Casablanca alone provides 90% of sales and 68% of employment in this sector. Over 90% of these companies are at the Nouasser Technopolis, with a huge investment of MAD 959 million, 16 companies and 2,546 jobs. Since its inception on 80 Ha area dedicated to the aviation industry, the Nouasser technopolis has attracted leading companies in the sector. Representatives of large groups, or European SMEs Moroccan companies, all have realized their projects and set for success story to others. The very attractive price of leasing, the plug and play available space and close to the largest Moroccan airport make this area one of the best choices for investors in this sector. A dedicated area combined with an aggressive policy of Human Resources, the Moroccan state has already anticipated the need for engineers and table of 10,000 engineers by 2010 to meet the strong demand that national schools fail to meet so far. This shortage is particularly a niche markets such as education, design and new technologies that are also outsourced.

Morocco Mall : THE MALL in capital letters ! This happens also in Casablanca! Morocco Mall is simply the largest shopping center in Africa, spreading on an area of over 250,000 m². The construction of this pharaonic center tooks up to 4 years since 2007 on the “Corniche de Casablanca”. Its official opening to the public was held on December 5th, 2011. Less than one year later, precisely on 8 March 2012, Morocco Mall receives the architecture award for the "Best mall" in the world built in 2012, awarded by the prestigious MIPIM Awards in Cannes. For comparison, and before the opening of Morocco Mall, the first African shopping center was the Century City Cape Town (125,000 m²) ranked in the world top 20 shopping centers. The Nesk and Aksal Investment groups have invested for this project the amount of to two MAD billion (255 million dollars). Ranking in the Top 5 worldwide, Morocco Mall is reinforced by its rich offer in terms of shops (a large hypermarket, FNAC, Galeries Lafayette, etc..) And leisure areas (Adventureland park, the 3rd largest aquarium worldwide, 4th largest musical fountain worldwide, an ice rink, etc.). The architecture of the Morocco Mall’s Galeries Lafayette scored this building Guinness World Record ™ for the largest storefront in the world built in a single mall.