Safari, leisure park in Marrakesh

The city of Marrakesh will be endowed with a 200-hectare safari and leisure park.

The park, dubbed Bab Africa (The gate to Africa), is the first of the kind in Africa, and includes artificial lakes, rivers, hundreds of varieties of trees and plants, and greenhouses in addition to tourism facilities.

The first phase of the park, extending over 84 hectares, will be open as of next February and visitors will have the opportunity to observe at close hand crocodiles, ostriches, butterflies and exotic birds and to stroll around a natural history museum.

Strollers will walk on foot or use Senegalese canoes to visit around in a bid to preserve the environment, says the park owner, a French investor.

The park, whose first phase required an investment worth 40 million DH ($3.63 million), will create 250 permanent jobs in the first stage and nearly 1,400 jobs when completed in four years.