Morocco on Thursday opened the Mohammed VI Tower, a 55-story skyscraper rising about 820 feet in Salé, the twin city of Rabat, as the country expands a slate of high-profile projects tied to tourism and investment. The $700 million tower is named for King Mohammed VI and is designed to stand out on the capital region’s skyline as it moves the development forward from years of construction.
O Tower development director Leila Haddaoui told reporters that the building is expected to create 450 direct jobs and 3,500 indirect jobs. The tower will include a luxury Waldorf Astoria hotel, along with offices, shops, restaurants and upscale apartments, according to the project description shared at the opening.
Haddaoui said the tower is also part of a broader effort to put Rabat and Salé—often overlooked by tourists—on the international stage. The project arrives as Morocco leans heavily on tourism in its economy, while it seeks to attract more visitors and prepares to co-host the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
The tower is near the Grand Theatre of Rabat, a landmark designed by the late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid. Tower management said the structure’s concept was inspired by a rocket on a launchpad, and the story of that inspiration traces to a 1969 invitation for Othmane Benjelloun, a 93-year-old billionaire who owns Bank of Africa, to a NASA spaceflight simulation ahead of the Apollo 12 mission.
Tower management also said the project’s development involved more than 2,500 workers from over a dozen countries and was built over eight years. The tower has already appeared on Morocco’s 200-dirham banknote, and the tower’s total area is described as more than 102,800 square meters (about 1.1 million square feet), with views of the Atlantic Ocean and the twin cities.
While backers present the tower as a symbol of Morocco’s soft power, the opening also drew attention to criticism that development is concentrated along the Atlantic corridor, leaving other parts of the country less developed. The AP report cited Gen Z-led protests last year that reflected grievances over high unemployment and struggling public services.