Rabat: A construction group owned by the family of Osama bin Laden is to build a 514-metre high tower in Casablanca, the economic capital of Morocco that will be the tallest on the African continent.
The project by the Saudi Alturki Holding Group represents a total investment of $1.5 billion and will be sited in the downtown area of Anfa City.
Executive director Osama el-Husseiny said the latest technologies would be applied in building the 114-storey tower and noted that the number of floors was identical to the number of chapters in the Quran.
The group is also planning to construct a 250-hectare modern city in Bouskoura, south of Casablanca, according to the firm`s executive director.
He said he regretted that the Gulf states` investment in the North African country has fallen off, but said this could be remedied through contacts between investors on both sides and by opening a joint chamber of commerce.
Trade between Morocco and the Gulf countries reached $2.6 billion in 2013, of which 80 percent came from Saudi Arabia, according to the latest figures released by the Moroccan Foreign Exchange Office.