Laayoune-Boujdour-Sakia El Hamra

Laayoune-Boujdour-Sakia El Hamra occupied disputed territory. Morocco annexed Western Sahara in 1975 after Spain withdrew, but the Polisario Front claimed it as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. This administrative region existed within contested sovereignty—recognized by Morocco, rejected by the AU and many UN members. The economy ran on Moroccan state investment (subsidies, infrastructure, administrative jobs) and phosphate extraction, not organic development.

Bou Craa mine, 100 km southeast of Laayoune, contains massive phosphate deposits transported via 100 km conveyor belt (world's longest) to the Atlantic coast for export. OCP controls extraction; revenue flows to Rabat. Local Sahrawis received employment and state subsidies, but the fundamental pattern remained extractive: resources leave, decisions come from outside, local populations depend on transfer payments rather than self-generated income.

The 2015 regionalization reorganized Laayoune-Boujdour-Sakia El Hamra into new configurations, but the underlying political stalemate persists. Morocco invests heavily to assert de facto control—building roads, hospitals, schools, offering tax incentives for businesses. The Sahrawi population remains divided: some accepted integration with Morocco, others support independence. The UN-monitored ceasefire holds, but no political resolution emerges.

Through 2026, the region continues as a subsidized frontier. Phosphate extraction grows as OCP expands capacity. Fishing from Atlantic ports continues. But without political settlement, economic development remains constrained—businesses hesitate to invest in disputed territory, international partners avoid involvement, and the Sahrawi population's future remains unresolved. The region exists in suspended animation: administered but not sovereign, developed but not autonomous.