Oukaimeden's Rebuild Has a Contractor. What It Means for This Winter

If you are thinking about skiing in Morocco this winter, the useful news is three months old and has not been widely reported in English.

On 25 June 2026, SMIT, the state tourism engineering company, awarded the first phase of Oukaimeden’s rebuild to the French cable-transport manufacturer Poma SAS for 117.37 million dirhams. The other bidder, MND France, was eliminated after the technical stage.

That matters because the project has failed twice before. A 2023 contract to a Franco-Moroccan grouping was cancelled. A second tender worth 75 million dirhams drew one bidder, the Austrian lift maker Doppelmayr, which was rejected at the end of 2025 after bidders told SMIT the budget did not cover what was being asked. The tender was relaunched in April 2026 at an estimated 100 million dirhams, and this time it has produced a signed contractor.

What phase one actually covers

Earthworks, a new chairlift, three ski runs and a set of year-round activities. The works are scheduled to run about twelve months, and whoever builds it must also operate the resort for at least two years afterwards, which is meant to stop the thing being handed over and left to rot again.

Separately, the road upgrades on the approach from the Ourika valley, a 165 million dirham programme, were reported at 75% complete in April.

Skiing is no longer the point

The bigger shift is what Oukaimeden is being rebuilt into. Imad Barrakad, SMIT’s director general, told Médias24 in April that skiing would account for only around 30% of the resort’s activity. The rest is mountain biking, hiking, mountain sports and family activities such as tubing. The chairlift is meant to run all year, carrying walkers to the ridge in summer.

That is a straightforward reading of the snow. Cover in the High Atlas has become less dependable, and a resort that only works when it snows is a resort that mostly does not work.

What this changes for a trip this winter

Very little, and that is the part worth being clear about. Barrakad’s stated target is full operation by late 2027 or early 2028. This winter and next, Oukaimeden is a mountain day rather than a ski day: snow when there is snow, sledging, walking, and a view of the Atlas from 2,600 metres.

If skiing specifically is why you would go, confirm conditions locally before you travel. Our Oukaimeden guide covers what to expect in the meantime.