Morocco’s flagship AI data centre project — a planned 500-megawatt facility to be powered entirely by renewable energy — has cleared the land allocation phase after the Casablanca-Settat Regional Council dedicated 666 hectares in Nouaceur to large-scale industrial projects including the data centre, removing a key prerequisite for the development to proceed.
The project, which will draw its power from a strategic agreement with TAQA Morocco, is designed as one of Africa’s largest digital infrastructure investments. The first phase, targeting 40 MW of capacity, had been expected to launch in the first quarter of 2026 but has experienced several months of delay. The Nouaceur land decision, taken at the council’s 2 March meeting, is part of Morocco’s broader effort to anticipate infrastructure bottlenecks for large-scale technology investment. The province of Nouaceur had separately inaugurated a 476-hectare industrial acceleration zone at Ouled Saleh in the weeks prior, specifically dedicated to new technology sectors, further consolidating the area’s positioning as Morocco’s primary destination for hyperscale digital infrastructure.
Morocco currently hosts 23 operational data centres, making it Africa’s leading data centre market by facility count ahead of South Africa. Combined pipeline capacity from announced projects — including the Naver 500 MW facility and the Texas-based Iozera 386 MW development in Tetouan — could bring total installed capacity close to two gigawatts, far exceeding Africa’s current continental footprint of under 500 MW across its five leading markets.
Energy supply and grid readiness remain the principal constraints on timeline delivery, with analysts noting that renewable capacity matching AI data centre power demands may not reach required levels in Morocco until the mid-2030s.
Editor’s Note: The land clearance milestone lands in the same week as GITEX Africa Morocco in Marrakech, where data centre investment and Morocco’s AI infrastructure ambitions are central themes. The Nouaceur land consolidation — 666 hectares of regional council allocation plus 476 hectares of dedicated tech acceleration zone — signals that the Moroccan government is moving from announcement to site preparation, the stage at which project credibility is typically tested most sharply. Watch for TAQA Morocco power agreements and EPC contractor announcements as the next evidence of execution momentum.
