Khouribga

Khouribga
City
Nickname(s): Phosphate City
Khouribga

Location in Morocco

Coordinates: 32°53′N 6°55′W / 32.883°N 6.917°W / 32.883; -6.917Coordinates: 32°53′N 6°55′W / 32.883°N 6.917°W / 32.883; -6.917
Country  Morocco
Region Béni Mellal-Khénifra
Province Khouribga
Government
  Mayor Mouhamed Zekrani (Constitutional Union, 2009)
  Governor Abdellatif Chadali (2012)
Area
  Total 52 km2 (20 sq mi)
Elevation 786 m (2,579 ft)
Population (2013)
  Total 210,000
  Density 4,083.46/km2 (10,576.1/sq mi)
  Rank 16th in Morocco
Time zone WET (UTC+0)
  Summer (DST) WEST (UTC+1)
Postal Code 25000
Website khouribga.com The portal of Khouribga

Khouribga (Berber: ⵅⵯⵔⵉⴱⴳⴰ, Arabic: خريبكة) is the capital of Khouribga Province in the Béni Mellal-Khénifra region of Morocco. With a population of approximately 172,000, Khouribga owes its growth to the phosphate deposits nearby. Khouribga was also a large site of colonial French settlement, with many houses still standing today in the city.

Geography

Located at least 120 km from Casablanca, 154 km from the capital, Rabat, 200 km from the city of Marrakesh, 99 km from the city of Beni Mellal and 60 km from the city of Settat.

Khouribga is located 820 meters above sea level on the Ouardigha plateau. The city was founded in 1923 by the authorities of the French protectorate when they discovered phosphate in the region, for which Morocco is considered to be the biggest exporter in the world. There are several mines in the province, most notably the mine of Sidi Shennan near the town of Oued Zem, which lies 30 km from the village of Boulanouar (5 km) and the town of Boujniba (10 km) and the village of Hattane.

The Province of Khouribga is bordered by the Province of Beni Mellal in the east, Province of Ben Slimane in the west, the Province of Settat in the south, and Khémisset Province in the north.

Economy

Phosphate

The Province of Khouribga has a large phosphate reserve estimated 35 to 40 billion cubic meters, which is ranked first at the national level. Also Khouribga is one of the cities that brings hard currency and that is due to its community residents from Italy.

Industrial activities

Regardless of phosphate mining, the province knew the emergence of other industries in various economic sectors:

Industrial areas

The province has three Industrial zones:

Services

The province has several services, among them:

Agriculture

The agricultural lands is divided into 50% arable land, 20% forests, 30% unused land. Livestock is the most important source of income for the rural population, the herd is estimated to be:

Handicraft

The handicraft sector represents a sizable part of the local economy with 9 cooperatives (260 members), and a handicrafts association.

Health

The facilities cover most of the province with:

Twin Cities

Notable people

See also

References

    This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/14/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.