Rabat - Morocco’s Ministry of Interior has allocated MAD 25 million for the restoration of the Sacré-Cœur Cathedral in Casablanca.

Rabat – Morocco’s Ministry of Interior has allocated MAD 25 million for the restoration of the Sacré-Cœur Cathedral in Casablanca.

The Directorate General of Local Authorities stated that the Ministry of Interior will finance the refurbishment of Sacré-Cœur Cathedral. Dating back to the 1930’s, the cathedral is an important historic and cultural heritage site in the city of Casablanca.

Mohamed Tajari is the technical director for Hub Génie Civil, the company in charge of the MAD 25 million renovation of the cathedral. According to Tajari, the fact that the restoration needs more than 20,000 meters of scaffolding, is rare in Morocco, “except for minarets like Hassan and Koutoubia.”

The first stage of the operation began last November and involves the renovation of the inner vault. Tajari explained that “The work is being carried out simultaneously on the exterior and the interior of the building.”

Abderrahim Kassou, the former president of Casamémoire and the current architect in charge of this project, pointed out that what distinguishes this landmark is its mixture of “Gothic construction with reinforced concrete, with an exceptional under ceiling height.”

The restoration project will incorporate two components, the renovation itself and alteration of the site to accommodate artistic and cultural events.

The outbuildings of the cathedral will also be restored to accommodate artist workshops, a reading space, a small museum, a café, and a restaurant. The restoration of the outbuildings will take into account the architecture of the surrounding buildings.

The architect also revealed that a number of Dutch experts with a remarkable track record in this area of Church restoration will provide guidance in this project.

“The idea is to link this historic site to its immediate surroundings, including the Ligue arabe and l’Ecole des beaux-arts,” said Mustapha Lhaya, the Second Vice-President in charge of construction works and Infrastructure.

According to the same official, Casablanca’s urban community has begun the process of acquiring the land on which the edifice stands to secure it for the church.