It has been announced that Belgium-based contractor Besix and Travaux Generaux de Construction de Casablanca (TGCC) have been awarded the contract to build the BMCE Bank of Africa Tower in Rabat, Morocco.

The building will be 250m tall, which would make it the tallest building in Africa. It will consist of 55-storeys with a luxury hotel, offices, residential space and an observation deck. A third of the tower鈥檚 fa莽ade will be covered with photovoltaic panels to make the building more energy efficient.

The tower will be the centrepiece of the Bouregreg Valley Development Project, which is itself part of the 鈥楻abat City of Light鈥� project which aims to boost the Moroccan capital鈥檚 cultural profile.

Rik Vandenberghe, chief executive of Besix, said, 鈥淭he Bank of Africa Tower will be an emblematic building for the country. I am proud to see Besix participating in its construction in Morocco, a kingdom in which it has been a pleasure to work in recent years. In the case of the Bank of Africa Tower, we can count on our solid expertise in high-rise construction.鈥�

Work is due to start in November and completion is expected in May 2022.