The construction project of the road corridor linking Es-Semara to a second border post connecting the far south of the Moroccan Sahara to the north of Mauritania, via the municipalities of Amgala and Tifariti, will soon open its doors to road traffic of goods and people, announced the Regional Director of Equipment, Transport, and Logistics in Es-Semara, Samih Azzamari, specifying that the work progress now exceeds 95%.
With a length of 93 km, this road, which required a total investment of 49.72 million dirhams, is divided into four sections. The last segment, currently being completed, concerns National Route 17, which extends over 53 km at an estimated cost of 28.23 million dirhams. Its progress rate exceeds 88%, while the other three sections totaling 40 km were already completed between 2017 and 2023.
This road corridor aims to reduce transport time, improve road safety, and strengthen connectivity between Morocco and Mauritania. Its completion will lead to the opening of the second border post, complementing the Guerguerat crossing, which currently links Morocco to Mauritania.
This new infrastructure is part of the Atlantic Initiative launched by King Mohammed VI to strengthen regional integration and access for Sahel countries to the Atlantic Ocean and should simultaneously promote economic, social, and tourism development in this region, create local jobs, and consolidate the demographic stability of the areas concerned.
Furthermore, a 3600 m² road station project, costing 900,000 dirhams, designed to improve the reception of travelers and the management of transport flows, was presented during a visit by the Governor of Es-Semara, Ibrahim Boutoumilat, who came to inquire about the progress of the road project. Additionally, a new taxi line linking Es-Semara to Amgala via El Khaïda has been launched to facilitate the mobility of the region’s inhabitants.
It should be noted that the road axis between Morocco and Mauritania, used daily by dozens of freight trucks and passenger transport vehicles, has been fully secured since November 13, 2020, following a forceful intervention by the Royal Armed Forces (FAR), which made it possible to permanently expel the polisario militiamen who, since October 21, 2020, had been carrying out acts of banditry by blocking the movement of goods and people in the buffer zone adjacent to the Moroccan border post of El Guerguerat.
