The Casablanca mega-mall turns Morocco's economic capital into a haven for shoppers.
After more than four years of construction, the Morocco Mall opened to great fanfare on Thursday.
The 2 billion-dirham shopping complex, billed as the largest retail space in the Mediterranean basin and Africa, includes hundreds of stores, restaurants, an enormous aquarium and ice skating rink.
Casablanca residents and guests turned out en masse to celebrate the architectural success. Bedazzled visitors did not hide their delight.
"No comment," Hanaa, Leila and Amira, who all work at a bank, told Magharebia.
Other visitors felt that the country's economic capital needed a shopping centre on a par with those of the world's major metropolises. The mall is perfectly integrated into the urban and marine environment, they said.
Located on a scenic coastal road skirting the Atlantic, the site has an area of twenty hectares.
"It's really beautiful and friendly-looking," said student Amine.
Pop singer Jennifer Lopez attended the mall's opening, performing songs such as her hit "On the Floor", produced by Moroccan-Swedish songwriter Nadir Khayat, known as RedOne.
Shopaholics were thrilled with the quality of items for sale and the wide range of models and brands on offer. Several luxury labels will enter the African market for the first time with new shops at the centre.
The mega-complex could turn Casablanca into a major shopping destination like Dubai, said outgoing Trade Minister Ahmed Reda Chami.
Mall developers anticipate 14 million visitors per year, generating a turnover of five billion dirhams. According to site manager Salwa Idrissi Akhannouch, the shopping centre created 5,000 direct jobs and 21,000 indirect jobs. More than 100,000 people were involved in its construction, she added.
"It is something the nation can be really proud of," she said.
Bouchaib, who is 21 and lives in a douar close to the mall in Hay Hassani, is glad to have found a steady job. "I used to help my father with his masonry work, but now I earn 2,500 dirhams a month in a shop inside the mall," he said.
Lakbira, a snail-seller who lives in the same shanty town as Bouchaib, said that many women in her neighbourhood have been employed at the mall by hygiene companies. "They now work in decent conditions and can do a better job of providing for their families," she said.
"I didn't hesitate to give my CV to the mall's management in the hope of finding a job, because I have to help my family," Maria, around twenty, told Magharebia.
The shopping centre is also home to the world's third-largest musical fountain, Adventureland and a food court with 45 restaurants. It will also introduce Moroccans with new activities such as a dolphin show, an IMAX 3D cinema and Morocco Souk, a new twist on the traditional souks of Fes and Marrakech.
At the beginning, many sceptics did not believe that such a huge edifice could be erected facing the Atlantic Ocean and its unpredictable waves, said architect David Padoa, who designed the project. However, the challenge was met successfully, he added.
© Magharebia.com 2011
