Marrakech 2021-2026: modernising the Ochre City without losing its soul

On 17 September 2021, Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri returned to the helm of Marrakech City Council, which she had already led from 2009 to 2015. Appointed to the government a few weeks later, she kept her mandate as mayor and set the Ochre City on a broad modernisation programme. Her guiding principle: reconciling investment and development with the preservation of Marrakech’s urban and heritage identity.

A second term, the same compass

Elected with 79 votes at the council session of 17 September 2021, Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri began a term that runs until 2027. On 7 October that year, she was appointed Minister of National Territory Planning, Urban Planning, Housing and City Policy, while remaining at the head of the city.

Her line for Marrakech has not changed: attract investment and modernise public facilities without erasing what makes the city unique. The council has adopted an architectural charter, a building charter and rules governing façades and colours, so that every new project respects the character of the city.

“We have modernised Marrakech without renouncing its soul”

Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri, interview with Médias24, July 2025 (translated from French)

423 projects to transform the city

According to the record presented during her 2026 campaign, the city programme comprises 423 projects and 15.16 billion dirhams of programmed investment, with 311 projects delivered or launched. The council has signed 67 partnership agreements worth 8.63 billion dirhams.

On the financial side, a summary published by the PAM in July 2026 shows the municipal budget rising from 984 million dirhams in 2021 to 1,475 million in 2024, while the surplus grew from 83 to 354 million dirhams.

Neighbourhoods are at the heart of the programme. Urban upgrading has benefited 7,479 households, 5,658 households have been rehoused and 1,838 have had their land tenure regularised. The city has supported 274 community projects, programmes for people with disabilities, school transport and medical screening, and has completed the Royal Theatre. The “Jamaâti” (جماعتي) citizen platform, together with digitised civil-status records and building permits, makes everyday procedures simpler for residents.

Getting around the Ochre City

Mobility is one of the most visible areas of work this term. The city has acquired 349 new buses, 15 of them electric, opened dedicated bus lanes and completed the Azzouzia bus station. More than 30 km of neighbourhood roads have been upgraded.

On the road network, 130 km of roads have been built or upgraded for 2.32 billion dirhams, along with 85 junctions. Around 7,200 parking spaces have been provided, and the city’s CCTV network now counts 738 cameras. On 26 June 2026, Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri launched the widening of the Marrakech-Menara airport road, which includes a cycle lane.

Parks and heritage brought to life

Marrakech has gained large green spaces: the 120-hectare Zitoune park, the 40-hectare Moulay El Hassan park and the 65-hectare M’Hamid urban forest. The forest, built for 100 million dirhams, offers football pitches, a skate park and a cycle path. By July 2025, 15,000 trees had been planted, and an irrigation network using treated wastewater supports these new spaces.

Heritage has not been left behind. In June 2026, the mayor launched the project for the Agdal Ba Ahmed historic garden, covering about 9 hectares, together with a heritage interpretation centre at Bab Aghmat. Jemaa el-Fnaa square is undergoing rehabilitation and enhancement works, whose progress she reviewed on site on 8 December 2024, while the medina’s streets, drainage networks and historic gates are also being upgraded. After the earthquake of 8 September 2023, 94 million dirhams were mobilised to restore 36 traditional guest houses in the medina.

A city open to the world

During this term, Marrakech hosted the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, from 9 to 15 October 2023. Marrakech Stadium was one of the venues of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and is among the stadiums selected for the 2030 World Cup.

The city also cultivates its ties with other cities. In May 2024, Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri was elected to the Bureau of the International Association of Francophone Mayors (AIMF), of which Marrakech has been a member since 1980. On 26 March 2026, City Hall welcomed a delegation from the Scottsdale-Marrakech sister-cities association. The full picture of her record is available on this site.