The government of Morocco has announced plans for the development of a second international airport through the public-private partnership (PPP) model in Marrakech.

The plans has been announced by the Moroccan Minister of Equipment, Transportation and Logistics, Aziz Rebbah on 2 July 2014. According to Mr. Rebah, the cost of developing the new airport is estimated at MAD4.3 billion (US$520 million).

The proposed new international airport will have a design capacity of 9 million passengers per year. 

The project should be located within 30 kilometers of the city. The new international airport could be located at Sidi Zouine or Sidi Bouatmane.

Although the new expansion and renovation of Marrakesh Menara Airport have increased its capacity to 9 million passengers per year, it will not be able to absorb increasing traffic. The traffic is expected to reach 14.37 million passengers in 2030. Additionally, the current airport can not be expanded due to the fact that it is blocked by increasing urbanization.

In May, the country airports have increased significantly with 1.48 million passengers, an increase of 7% compared to May 2013. The six major airports increase in traffic over the previous year: Mohammed V (11.14%), Marrakech (9.98%), Agadir (5.52%), Fez (20.30%), Rabat (79.62%) and Tangier (1.49%).