Ritz-Carlton in M'diq: Morocco's CDG Creates Subsidiary to Revive Project

A decree by Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch, dated August 3, 2026 and published in the Official Bulletin on August 27, authorizes the Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion (CDG) to create a dedicated company for the development, execution, and operation of the "Ritz-Carlton Golf & Resort Spa" project at Tamuda Bay, M'diq, with an initial capital of 10 million dirhams.

A project stalled for over 4 years

The luxury hotel project originally belonged to businessman Yassir Zenagui and his brothers, before construction halted more than four years ago amid a legal and financial dispute that gradually stripped the family of the project. Among the disputes linked to the stoppage, engineering firm Novec had claimed 33.2 million dirhams in compensation from the Zenagui family. With this new decree, responsibility for relaunching the site officially passes to the CDG, which had already taken over the hotel's file after recovering it from the family.

A Rabat precedent repeats in M'diq

This is not the first time a public entity has stepped in to rescue a stalled Ritz-Carlton project in Morocco. In 2024, the Société hôtelière de Benguerir, a subsidiary of UM6P, had already taken over the stalled "Ritz-Carlton Dar Es Salam" project in Rabat. The Tamuda Bay project thus becomes the second site of this international hotel chain to be revived by a Moroccan public entity within two years.

Why this matters

The decision reflects a growing tendency by the CDG to intervene directly to unblock stalled high-end tourism projects rather than leaving them suspended for years in legal disputes. The Tangier-Tétouan-Al Hoceïma region, where M'diq is located, is gaining tourism importance, making the revival of a project of the Ritz-Carlton's scale a signal of continued confidence in the region's appeal, even though the decree sets no timeline for the hotel's opening.