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Morocco to Construct Record-breaking Skyscraper

King Mohmmed VI at the launching ceremony of the tower, in Sale, near Rabat. MAP
King Mohmmed VI at the launching ceremony of the tower, in Sale, near Rabat. MAP
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Morocco to Construct Record-breaking Skyscraper

King Mohmmed VI at the launching ceremony of the tower, in Sale, near Rabat. MAP
King Mohmmed VI at the launching ceremony of the tower, in Sale, near Rabat. MAP

The construction process of Morocco's tallest skyscraper on the banks of the Bouregreg river in Sale near the capital Rabat, has been launched, the country announced this week.

The Bank of Africa tower will stand at 250 meters tall and rise to 55 floors in a project that would cost around 4 billion Moroccan dirham (around $400 million).

The skyscraper is being built by Belgian construction firm BESIX Group, which has worked on the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, and Morocco’s Travaux Generaux de Construction de Casablanca (TGCC). The building process will also be supported by China Railway Construction Corporation International.

Johan Beerlandt, Chairman of BESIX, spoke about his company’s international expertise in tower construction.

Beerlandt said at the ceremony attended by King Mohammed VI on Thursday that BESIX respects all safety, quality and environmental standards in its projects.

The tower, which will be named after the King, will host a luxury hotel, apartments, office space and a viewing terrace at the top. It is due to be completed on May 30, 2022.

It is at the center of a wider Bouregreg Valley Development project, part of Rabat's modernization program called Rabat Ville Lumière, Capitale Marocaine de la Culture (Rabat, City of Light, Moroccan Capital of Culture).

This includes other major urban developments, including the Maison des Arts et de la Culture (House of Arts and Culture) and Le Grand Théâtre de Rabat.

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Varieties

New Zealanders Save More Than 30 Stranded Whales by Lifting Them on Sheets

Rescuers and volunteers try to save killer whales stranded at the mouth of the Bolshaya Vorovskaya River at the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk, on the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia October 2, 2024. Head of the Sobolevsky Municipal District of the Kamchatka Region Andrei Vorovskiy via VK/Handout via REUTERS
Rescuers and volunteers try to save killer whales stranded at the mouth of the Bolshaya Vorovskaya River at the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk, on the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia October 2, 2024. Head of the Sobolevsky Municipal District of the Kamchatka Region Andrei Vorovskiy via VK/Handout via REUTERS
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New Zealanders Save More Than 30 Stranded Whales by Lifting Them on Sheets

Rescuers and volunteers try to save killer whales stranded at the mouth of the Bolshaya Vorovskaya River at the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk, on the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia October 2, 2024. Head of the Sobolevsky Municipal District of the Kamchatka Region Andrei Vorovskiy via VK/Handout via REUTERS
Rescuers and volunteers try to save killer whales stranded at the mouth of the Bolshaya Vorovskaya River at the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk, on the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia October 2, 2024. Head of the Sobolevsky Municipal District of the Kamchatka Region Andrei Vorovskiy via VK/Handout via REUTERS

More than 30 pilot whales that stranded themselves on a beach in New Zealand were safely returned to the ocean after conservation workers and residents helped to refloat them by lifting them on sheets. Four of the pilot whales died, New Zealand’s conservation agency said.
New Zealand is a whale stranding hotspot and pilot whales are especially prolific stranders.
A team was monitoring Ruakākā Beach near the city of Whangārei in New Zealand’s north on Monday to ensure there were no signs of the whales saved Sunday stranding again, the Department of Conservation told The Associated Press. The agency praised as “incredible” the efforts made by hundreds of people to help save the foundering pod.
“It’s amazing to witness the genuine care and compassion people have shown toward these magnificent animals,” Joel Lauterbach, a Department of Conservation spokesperson, said in a statement. “This response demonstrates the deep connection we all share with our marine environment.”
A Māori cultural ceremony for the three adult whales and one calf that died in the stranding took place on Monday. New Zealand’s Indigenous people consider whales a taonga — a sacred treasure — of cultural significance.
New Zealand has recorded more than 5,000 whale strandings since 1840. The largest pilot whale stranding was of an estimated 1,000 whales at the Chatham Islands in 1918, according to the Department of Conservation.
It's often not clear why strandings happen but the island nation's geography is believed to be a factor. Both the North and South Islands feature stretches of protruding coastline with shallow, sloping beaches that can confuse species such as pilot whales — which rely on echolocation to navigate.