Context

The Casablanca-Settat Region, Morocco’s leading region in economic and demographic weight, has undertaken the development of its Regional Development Program (RDP) for the period 2022-2027, the framework document for regional programming provided for by the organic law on regions. The assignment, led by Boston Consulting Group on behalf of the Region, engaged Massir Invest as infrastructure, transport, and logistics expert, as well as in cross-functional support on territorial development and public strategy and programming components.

Scope / Methodology

The development of the RDP was conducted according to a structured approach based on five pillars, on which Massir Invest intervened with a primary focus on mobility and regional infrastructure:

• Evaluation of the 2016-2021 RDP covering the analysis of the completion rate of the 154 initial projects, identification of causes of underperformance, and formulation of five structural lessons for the new programming cycle
• Territorial diagnosis covering ten themes, informed by consultation involving approximately 1,000 elected officials during 9 provincial meetings, 180 citizens surveyed through questionnaires and focus groups, and around fifty meetings with ministries and public institutions. On the mobility and infrastructure component, the diagnosis addressed the saturation of metropolitan road networks, the inadequacy of regional public transport services, the low utilization rate of rail transport, the isolation of rural municipalities by poorly maintained roads, and the challenges of sustainable mobility and transport safety
• Formulation of the RDP vision structured around 10 priority areas divided into 5 intervention domains, with multi-criteria prioritization of approximately 70 strategic programs and projects for a consolidated budget of 48 billion DH, of which 16 billion is the Region’s responsibility. Massir Invest’s expertise primarily focused on defining the positioning and role of the Region in the development of the Casablanca RER and regional rail services, regional bus transport and rural and school transport, acceleration and maintenance of regional roads and rural tracks, and development of the Zenata and Ouled Saleh logistics zones
• Institutional and sectoral benchmarks on the role of regions internationally and on specific themes (mobility, industrial land, inter-municipality cooperation), combined with analysis of national strategy orientations and the New Development Model
• Design of the implementation and monitoring framework, including a standardized process for selecting and financing local projects, an incentive mechanism for inter-municipality cooperation, a four-level governance structure, and a monitoring tool structured around project sheets, consolidated database, and summary reports

Results / Outputs / Deliverables

• Evaluation report of the 2016-2021 RDP
• Territorial diagnosis on 10 themes with summary of multi-stakeholder consultation
• Vision and strategic framework of the 2022-2027 RDP (10 areas, 5 domains, ~65 levers), including the regional mobility and infrastructure component
• Consolidated portfolio of ~70 programs and projects with detailed sheets, budgets, and stakeholders
• Implementation framework: selection process, 4-level governance, monitoring tools

Value for the Client

Following this assignment, the Casablanca-Settat Region has a structured five-year programming framework, supported by an in-depth territorial diagnosis and a clear-sighted evaluation of the previous cycle. On the mobility and infrastructure component, the Region has a clarified vision of its positioning and intervention methods enabling it to play a cross-functional catalyst role on strategic regional transport and accessibility projects, facilitating contractual arrangements with ONCF, the Ministry of Equipment, and logistics operators. The governance and monitoring framework designed constitutes an operational management tool aimed at addressing the implementation difficulties identified in the 2016-2021 cycle.