Béni Mellal-Khénifra ( ar, بني ملال - خنيفرة, banī mallāl - ḵunayfira; ber, ⴰⵢⵜ ⵎⵍⵍⴰⵍ - ⵅⵏⵉⴼⵕⴰ, ayt mllal - xnifṛa) is one of the twelve regions of

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

. It covers an area of 28,374 km² and recorded a population of 2,520,776 in the

2014 Moroccan census The 2014 Moroccan census The moroccan census of the population, officially named general census of the population and the habitat (RGPH), is a census taking place every ten years in the kingdom. It is established under the responsibility of the Hig ...

. The capital of the region is

Beni Mellal Beni Mellal ( ar, بني ملال}, ber, ⴰⵢⵜ ⵎⵍⵍⴰⵍ, Ayt Mellal) is a city in north-central Morocco. It is the capital of the Béni Mellal-Khénifra Region and has a population of 192,676 (2014 census). It sits at the foot of Jbe ...

Geography

Béni Mellal-Khénifra is located in the interior of the country. It borders

Rabat-Salé-Kénitra Rabat-Salé-Kénitra ( ar, الرباط-سلا-القنيطرة, ar-ribāṭ salā al-qunayṭira; ber, ⴻⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ-ⵙⵍⴰ-ⵇⵏⵉⵟⵔⴰ, eṛṛbaṭ sla qniṭra) is one of the twelve administrative regions of Morocco. It is ...

to the north,

Fès-Meknès Fès-Meknès or Fez-Meknes ( ar, فاس-مكناس, fās maknās; ber, ⴼⴰⵙ-ⵎⴽⵏⴰⵙ, fas mknas) is among the twelve Regions of Morocco. It has a population of 4,236,892 (2014 census). Its capital is Fez. Its current president is M ...

to the northeast,

Drâa-Tafilalet Drâa-Tafilalet ( ar, درعة - تافيلالت, darʿa - tāfīlālt; ber, ⴷⵔⴰ ⵜⴰⴼⵉⵍⴰⵍⵜ, drɛa tafilalt) is one of the twelve regions of Morocco. It covers an area of 88,836 km2 and had a population of 1,635,008 as ...

to the southeast, Marrakesh-Safi to the southwest and Casablanca-Settat to the northwest. In the western and central part of the region is the productive

Tadla Tadla is a historical and geographical region of Morocco, located in the center of the country, north of the High Atlas mountain range and west of the Middle Atlas. It is the region of origin of the eponymous collection of tribal, semi-nomadic pas ...

plain irrigated by the

Oum Er-Rbia River Oum Er-Rbia (Berber: ⴰⵙⵉⴼ ⵏ ⵉⵙⴰⴼⴻⵏ, ar, أم الربيع, "the mother of springtime", spelling Oum el- rbia, is a large, long and high-throughput river in central Morocco. The river is long. With an average water throughp ...

. This plain is bracketed by the

High Atlas High Atlas, also called the Grand Atlas ( ar, الأطلس الكبير, Al-Aṭlas al-Kabīr; french: Haut Atlas; shi, ⴰⴷⵔⴰⵔ ⵏ ⴷⵔⵏ ''Adrar n Dern''), is a mountain range in central Morocco, North Africa, the highest part of t ...

mountains which run through the southern and eastern parts of the region, and the foothills of the

Middle Atlas The Middle Atlas (Amazigh: ⴰⵟⵍⴰⵙ ⴰⵏⴰⵎⵎⴰⵙ, ''Atlas Anammas'', Arabic: الأطلس المتوسط, ''al-Aṭlas al-Mutawassiṭ'') is a mountain range in Morocco. It is part of the Atlas mountain range, a mountainous region ...

to the north.

History

Béni Mellal-Khénifra was formed in September 2015 by adding Khouribga Province of

Chaouia-Ouardigha Chaouia-Ouardigha () was formerly one of the sixteen regions of Morocco from 1997 to 2015. It was situated in north-central Morocco in the historical region of Chaouia. It covered an area of 7,010 km² and had a population of 1,893,950 (2014 cens ...

region and

Khénifra Province Khénifra is a province in the Moroccan region of Béni Mellal-Khénifra. was 511,53 The major cities and towns are* Aguelmous * Aït Ishaq * Amalou Ighriben * El Kbab * Had Bouhssoussen * Kehf Nsour * Kerrouchen * Khenifra * Moulay Bou ...

of Meknès-Tafilalet region to the three provinces previously making up the region of

Tadla-Azilal Tadla-Azilal (Berber: ''Tadla-Aẓilal'', ) was formerly one of the sixteen regions of Morocco from 1997 to 2015. It was situated in central Morocco. It covered an area of 17,125 km2 and had a population of 1,607,509 (2014 census). The capi ...

Government

Ibrahim Moujahid, a member of the

Authenticity and Modernity Party The Authenticity and Modernity Party ( ar, حزب الأصالة والمعاصرة, translit=ḥizb al-ʾaṣāla wa-l-muʿāṣira; zgh, ⴰⵎⵓⵍⵍⵉ ⵏ ⵜⴰⵥⵖⵓⵕⵜ ⴷ ⵜⴰⵎⵜⵔⴰⵔⵜ, translit=amulli n taẓɣoṛt ...

, was elected as the regional council's first president on 14 September 2015. Mohamed Derdouri was appointed governor (''wali'') of the region on 13 October 2015.

Subdivisions

Béni Mellal-Khénifra comprises five provinces: *

Azilal Province Azilal (in berber : ⴰⵣⵉⵍⴰⵍ) is a province in the Moroccan region of Béni Mellal-Khénifra. Its population in 2004 is 504,501. The major cities and towns are: * Afourar * Azilal * Ait Attab * Bzou Bzou (بزو) is a town in th ...

* Béni Mellal Province * Fquih Ben Salah Province *

* Khouribga Province

Economy

Agriculture is the backbone of the region's economy. Major crops include cereals, beetroot, olives, citrus fruits and pomegranates; the production of milk and meat is also substantial. The

Ouled Abdoun Basin The Oulad Abdoun Basin (also known as the Ouled Abdoun Basin or Khouribga Basin) is a phosphate sedimentary basin located in Morocco, near the city of Khouribga. It is the largest in Morocco, comprising 44% of Morocco's phosphate reserves, and a ...

near

Khouribga Khouribga ( ber, ⵅⵯⵔⵉⴱⴳⴰ, xʷribga; ar, خريبڭة, ḵurībga, ) is the capital of Khouribga Province in the Béni Mellal-Khénifra region, Morocco. With a population of 196,196 (2014 census), Khouribga owes its growth to the pho ...

holds 44% of Morocco's

phosphate In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid . The phosphate or orthophosphate ion is derived from phosph ...

reserves.

Infrastructure

The Berrechid–Beni Mellal expressway connects the region with the rest of the national expressway network, passing through the cities of Beni Mellal,

Oued Zem Oued Zem is a city in Khouribga Province, Béni Mellal-Khénifra, Morocco. According to the 2014 Moroccan census The 2014 Moroccan census The moroccan census of the population, officially named general census of the population and the habitat (RG ...

and Khouribga as it heads northwest to Berrechid just south of Casablanca. National Route 8 is another important highway, connecting Beni Mellal and Khenifra with Marrakesh in the southeast and Fez in the northwest.

Beni Mellal Airport Beni Mellal Airport is an airport serving Beni Mellal, Morocco opened in 2014. The airport is located near the township of Oulad Yaich Oulad Yaich is a town in Béni-Mellal Province, Béni Mellal-Khénifra, Morocco Morocco (),, ) off ...

is served by Royal Air Maroc, and there is a rail line with passenger service that runs between Oued Zem, Khouribga and Casablanca.

References

External links

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