ABSTRACT
Before the ‘Arab Springs’, waterfront development was accelerating in the Arab Mediterranean countries. In the three capitals of the Maghreb, financial plans for waterfront development projects were materialized in 2006 and 2007 through partnerships with Gulf investors. In March 2006, the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco entered into an investment convention with Sama Dubai worth USD 1 billion to develop a marina in downtown Casablanca between Hassan II mosque and the port of the economic capital. In July 2006, Algerian authorities contracted with the giant Emirati company, Emaar Properties, to develop the Bay of Algiers. Finally, in the mid-2000s the Tunisian state signed a contract with the Emirati group Bukhatir to develop Tunis Sports City, which was slated to cover more than 250 hectares on the shore of the North Lake. 1 In March 2007, the Tunisian Government promulgated a special law to agree with Sama Dubai to urbanize South Lake’s entire shore (830 ha of undeveloped land).
