Tangier - the new Dubai?

According to the experts, Tangier is the new land of golden opportunity for those seeking to invest in property overseas. King Mohamed VI and a consortium of private companies have taken a leaf out of Dubai’s book and joined forces to capitalise on Morocco’s strategic position between the European and African continents. By 2010 they will have transformed Tangier on Morocco’s northern peninsula into one the most important Free Enterprise Zones in the world and the main trade gateway to more than 600 million people across Europe, West Africa, North Africa as well as North America.

As Morten Skjelborg of Moroccan property specialists Direct Morocco explains, “Morocco is a country that’s changing fast. Tangier is the epitome of this change. The King and the team behind Dubai’s rise to prominence have secured one billion Euros of private investment to develop the region into a modern, forward-thinking place with the kind of high-tech infrastructure that goes with it. If you’re looking to buy a foreign property as either a sound investment or as a holiday retreat, there simply is no better place than Tangier. And now is absolutely the time to buy before prices soar.”

The Tangier Exportation Free Zone is a protected free trade environment where companies from around the world can operate tax-free. It’s literally a massive project covering 345 hectares of land. It incorporates a vast container port at the junction of the biggest maritime routes in the world with the capacity to handle both cargo and passenger ships; the expansion and improvement of Tangiers international airport, road and rail networks; the complete renovation of Tangier’s historic old port which will become a pleasure port for yachts and cruisesliners; the development of six new world class holiday resorts with four and five star hotels, holiday villages, nature trails and cultural attraction sites including a Kasbah, restaurants and shopping centres in the coastal Ghandouri tourism area; plus of course the controlled construction of quality apartments, townhouses and villas to house the increase of both workers and tourists coming to the region. This mammoth undertaking is estimated to create 145,000 jobs by the year 2020.

Founded in the fourth century B.C. by the Phoenicians, Tangier is the oldest city in Morocco and is considered by the Moroccan people to be their doorway to the world. At just 15 km. from the tip of southern Spain it is unequivocally a Mediterranean city, not just for its geographical location, but also its rich history, tradition and cultural influences. Like its near neighbour Spain’s Costa del Sol, it enjoys mild temperatures in the winter and non-stop sunshine in summer. At just three hours flying time from the UK, it’s already becoming an ideal destination for both weekend breaks or longer stays and attracts a large number of tourists year round. As such, Low-cost airlines such as Easyjet have obtained permission to begin flying direct from airports in the UK. The Spanish and Moroccan governments have also commissioned preliminary engineering studies to build a rail tunnel under the Straits of Gibraltar linking the two countries.

Construction of the Tangier Exportation Free Zone is already well underway and the majority of the work is expected to be complete by 2010. “The Moroccan authorities have put strict environmentally sensitive measures in place to prevent the kind of over supply of property we have seen in other developing areas,” Direct Morocco’s Morten Skjelborg points out. “It really does represent a fantastic opportunity for investment in overseas property. At the moment, you can still buy a beachfront apartment for as little as sixty thousand pounds.”