Casablanca is set to witness the building of Africa’s tallest building starting from next June, with a completion date set for June 2018, as the Dubai-based company Middle East Development LLC, owned by well-known Saudi investor Tareq Ben Laden, was given the green light to start building the 114-storey “King Mohammed VI Tower.”
Currently, the highest skyscraper in Africa is the Carlton shopping Center in Johanesburg (223 meters high) located in South Africa, while Casablanca hosts already Africa’s second tallest building, the 210 meters Hassan II mosque. Yet, and when finished by June 2018, Casablanca’s skyscraper (540 meters high) will be 317 meters taller than the South African building.
Concerning the total cost of the project, local reports hinted out that it is floating around $1 billion (800 million euros).
The 114 storeys of the building will represent the number of Surahs in the Holy Quran.
Regarding the reason behind choosing the tower to be exactly 540 meters tall, Middle East Development LLC said that it will “remind us that Africa has 54 countries” and that “everyone in Africa will feel part of that tower.”
The fancy skyscraper will include a seven-star hotel, a business center, a shopping mall and various other leisure facilities.
The Moroccan Times.
