A forward-looking commercial mission was also carried out in the field of infrastructure, with a view to contributing to the development of the road network and sustainable mobility in Morocco.
As a specialist in the asset management and structure maintenance, Cerema is conducting various projects with the Kingdom of Morocco in the field of infrastructure.
Modernizing lighthouses: a technical study of the three lighthouses of Casablanca
Morocco has 40 lighthouses along its maritime facades on the Mediterranean Sea as well as on the Atlantic Ocean. Despite the advent of of electronic navigation, lighthouses remain classified as a major aid to navigation because they are the ultimate positioning device for sea users, independent of the sea, independent of any onboard system. According to the recommendations of the International Association of (IALA), their availability rate must be higher than 99%.
In addition to the technical aspects, several lighthouses in the Kingdom of Morocco are witnesses of a slice of history and offer a diversified architectural wealth marking the period and the circumstances of their construction. The North Atlantic seafront is marked by 17 lighthouses including the three lighthouses located in Casablanca: the El Hank lighthouse, the Oukacha lighthouse and the Roches-Noires lighthouse.
The technical study of lighthouses of the Provincial Directorate of Equipment, Transport and Logistics of Casablanca, entrusted to the grouping made up of a Moroccan design office Matlev and Cerema, officially launched in March 2021, is the preliminary step prior to their modernization.
This one will have for objective :
-
to upgrade their nautical characteristics
-
to equip them with new technologies in terms of light sources with Led
-
to equip them with automated systems.
An on-site expertise in August 2021 carried out by a team from Cerema Mer et Littoral made it possible to establish a diagnosis of their actual condition. It shows a rate of availability of the three lighthouses in the area, significantly lower than the one recommended by international organizations. This expertise has also allowed us to analyze their contribution to the global beaconing plan of the Casablanca area, whose port infrastructures have been modernized and strongly modified during the last years.
On the basis of this inventory, Cerema and its Moroccan Moroccan partner are about to launch phase 2 of this study, which consists of developing proposals for the modernization of each of the lighthouses concerned before drafting the associated technical prescriptions that will enable the project owner to to carry out the upgrading of its intallations as early as 2022.
An audit of the monitoring, information and management system of maritime traffic in Moroccan ports
Cerema also provides its expertise in the context of the audit of the surveillance system, information and management system known as "VTMIS" (Vessel Traffic Management Information System) of four four Moroccan ports. The VTMIS, through the collection, processing and fusion of data, maintains a picture of maritime situation in real time which allows monitoring of port approaches, planning and and management of ship movements as well as resource management.
It is a port service that promotes safety of maritime navigation, the fluidity of commercial flows, protection against pollution and preservation of the marine environment. It is the maritime component of a port information system that manages all port logistics activities.
This audit is carried out within the framework of a service contract for the National Ports Agency and is part of a larger modernization plan for all of all harbours and port systems in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is based on a collaboration between Cerema and a consulting and engineering company which has a perfect knowledge of the field, the problems and the actors involved.
Cerema offers its expertise for :
-
the framing of the study with respect to compliance with international standards and regulations,
-
the technical diagnosis of sensors and associated information technologies,
-
analysis of operational and organizational procedures, benchmarking,
-
the development of continuous improvement and modernization.
A prospective mission to support the development of infrastructures
Cerema in Morocco from July 6 to 9, 2021 for a commercial mission organized by the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Morocco. Two directions of Cerema were present : Infrastructures and Materials, as well as Water and Sea Risks. Morocco has an ambitious road and motorway construction plan in order to increase considerably its network with, for example, the doubling of its highway network from 1,700 to 3,500 km. Morocco also has an ambitious plan to build new ports.
Important projects in terms of sustainable urban mobility are also planned, leaving a large place to innovation. The development of the city's bicycle and urban street car network are among the objectives.
As a specialist in infrastructure management Cerema plans to support project owners in the in the phase of carrying out preliminary studies in the field of roads, engineering structures, protection structures against landslides, as well as in the organization of urban mobility.
During this visit, Cerema met with several public and private stakeholders in the field of mobility and infrastructures (services of the Ministry of of Equipment, Transport, Logistics and Water, Autoroutes du Maroc, Société du Tramway de Rabat-Salé...) to better understand their ambitions and the projects that will be implemented.
This presence is part of a long-standing institutional relationship between between Morocco and France in the field of infrastructure, and contacts between Cerema experts, Moroccan experts and the Moroccan authorities in charge of infrastructure.
For example, from January to July 2021, Cerema intervened 2021 at the request of the World Bank in Rabat, to carry out a geotechnical study on the Al Hocéima - Nador axis, in connection with the construction of the new Nador West Med port.
Through the Mobilise Your City program, which has been conducted since 2015 in the context of Cop 21, Cerema has been supporting national and local authorities of several Moroccan cities to develop the framework and implement their sustainable urban mobility plans.