HIBAPRESS – Mohamed Zerriouh
The Belgian newspaper L’Echo praised the tourism and investment potential of the Mediterranean coast of the Oriental region, placing the Marchica lagoon in Nador at the forefront of projects that could redraw the tourism map of Morocco, considering that the region has all the elements that qualify it to compete with the most prominent Mediterranean destinations.
However, far from the praise coming from Belgium, the reality in Nador raises a more troubling question: Where are the promises? And where are the results that the people of the region have been waiting for since the launch of the Marchica project? The natural potential is there, the beautiful pictures are there, and the speeches about the future were strongly present, but the outcome on the ground still raises many questions.
Years after the launch of the project, a number of promises and projects that accompanied its inception are still awaiting realization, while, according to critics, many of the goals that were previously presented as part of an ambitious vision to transform Nador into a major tourism and economic hub have not been achieved. The paradox seems clear: a foreign newspaper sees Marchica as a gateway to a promising tourism future, while a segment of the region's people are still looking for traces of that future in their daily lives.
The question that arises today is not whether Marchica has the potential, as this does not require much debate, but rather who is responsible for transforming this potential into real wealth and tangible development? Are the announced projects and optimistic statements enough to change the reality of a region that has been waiting for years for the fruits of this project?
Between what international reports say and what the citizen sees on the ground, Marchica faces a real test: either the promises turn into projects, results, numbers, and job opportunities, or it remains just a large project with potential greater than its outcome. Nador today does not need someone from the outside to discover the beauty of Marchica, as much as it needs the people of the region to see for themselves the long-awaited fruits of this project.
