Tanger

When the new King of Morocco, Mohamed VI was crowned, it signalled a new dawn for this port city in Northern Morocco. Before assuming the throne the future king could often be seen jogging through the leafy the suburbs and his affection for the city has been translated into a massive progamme of investment and regeneration.

A New Face to the World

The mayor of Tanger, Mohamed Hassad who oversaw the regeneration of Marrakech, has embarked on an ambitious programme of improvements with the aim of securing the World Expo in 2012. Work has already begun with new roads, marinas, luxury beach resorts and international standard golf courses all underway close to Tanger.

Freeport status

As a result of the city's international status prior to independence Tanger still enjoys a freeport status. This allows companies to import and export goods without duties or tax. The freeport adjacent to the Iban Batuta International airport in Tanger already houses a large number of hi-tech industries as well as global corporations and is currently being expanded.

New Commercial & Passenger Port

A major part of the transformation will be the opening of the new $2 billion commercial port to the east of the city. As a result the port in the city centre will be devoted entirely to passenger vessels. These two improvements will create not only the largest container port in Africa, but also a new luxury harbour to rival the glamour of anywhere on the Mediterranean, with berths for visiting yachts and cruise ships.

The Open Skies Agreement

As part of its ever improving relationship with the EU, Morocco signed an "Open Skies" agreement. This will allow a huge increase in the number of flights to the city and a number of low cost aitlines are already in negotiation to begin flights. As the closest "exotic" destination to the UK yet retaining a Western outlook and where alcohol is freely available, the city looks highly likely to become a new "weekend break" hotspot.