On a public building site in Morocco, the client (maître d'ouvrage), called the contracting authority in procurement, is the authority that prepares and awards the contract and has it carried out in the name of the public body. The project supervisor (maître d'œuvre) designs the works and supervises them on the client's behalf, and the construction company builds them. Around them come the delegated client, the architect, the engineering consultancy, the technical inspection body, the testing laboratory and the subcontractors.
In brief
- The client (maître d'ouvrage, صاحب المشروع) prepares and awards the contract and has it carried out in the name of a public body (Decree n° 2-22-431, Article 4).
- The project supervisor (maître d'œuvre, المشرف على الأشغال) designs the works and supervises their execution for the client (CCAG-Travaux, the general administrative conditions for works contracts, Article 3).
- The client's role may be delegated by agreement, to a public body only, for works and the studies that go with them (Decree n° 2-22-431, Article 154).
- Subcontracting may not exceed 50% of the contract amount, nor cover the main trade. The contract holder alone remains responsible (Decree n° 2-22-431, Article 151).
What does the term maître d'ouvrage mean?
The maître d'ouvrage, the client, is the party for whom the works are built and who orders them. In public procurement, Decree n° 2-22-431 of 8 March 2023, in force since 1 September 2023, defines it as the competent authority, or any person designated by that authority, in charge of preparing, awarding and performing contracts in the name and on behalf of a public body, in particular the State, local authorities and public establishments (Articles 2 and 4). English procurement usage calls it the contracting authority. In Arabic: صاحب المشروع.
In practice, the client:
- defines the needs before any call for competition and, for works, makes sure that title to the land the project will stand on has been cleared (Article 5);
- chooses between a single contract and a contract divided into packages (Article 10);
- writes and signs the written instructions known as ordres de service (CCAG-Travaux, Article 11);
- takes over the works: provisional acceptance transfers ownership and risk to the client (CCAG-Travaux, Article 73).
What is the difference between the client and the project supervisor?
The client orders and decides; the project supervisor designs and supervises. The CCAG-Travaux (Decree n° 2-14-394 of 13 May 2016) defines the maître d'œuvre, the project supervisor, as the natural or legal person designated by the client to design the works, supervise their execution and, where applicable, inspect them (Article 3). In Arabic: المشرف على الأشغال.
The works contract binds the client and the contractor, not the project supervisor. Within fifteen days of the instruction to start work, the client notifies the contractor of the name, capacity and duties of the officer in charge of monitoring performance of the contract and, where applicable, of the project supervisor (Article 4). Our guide to the CCAG-Travaux explains these mechanisms in detail.
What is a delegated client in Morocco?
The delegated client (maître d'ouvrage délégué, صاحب المشروع المنتدب) is a public body entrusted with all or part of the client's duties (Decree n° 2-22-431, Article 4). Article 154 sets the framework for this delegation:
- it is made by agreement and covers works contracts and their related studies only;
- it may be entrusted only to an authorised public body: an administration, a public establishment, a state-owned company or its subsidiary, a development company;
- it requires a decision of the Head of Government after endorsement by the minister responsible for finance (State, public establishments) or an authorisation from the minister responsible for the interior (local authorities);
- it may cover preparation of the tender documents, award of the contracts, monitoring, coordination and inspection of the works, then acceptance.
The Agence Nationale des Équipements Publics (ANEP, National Agency for Public Facilities) was created for that purpose: Law n° 48-17 makes it responsible for acting as delegated client for the public facilities entrusted to it, within a contractual framework, in particular by State administrations, local authorities and public establishments (Article 2).
In November 2026, a preliminary draft of an amending decree, put out for public comment by the Secrétariat général du gouvernement (General Secretariat of the Government), announces a simpler route to delegating the client's role: check the version in force.
What is the difference between an AMO and a MOA?
MOA stands for maîtrise d'ouvrage, the client's function. AMO stands for assistance à maîtrise d'ouvrage, client advisory services: a service provider that advises the client without deciding in its place.
Decree n° 2-22-431 lists assistance to the client among service contracts (Article 4) and makes it compulsory for the restoration of traditional, historic and ancient structures (Article 5). The adviser advises. The delegated client, by contrast, acts in the name and on behalf of the public body under an agreement (Article 154).
What is the role of the architect and the design team?
The architect (المهندس المعماري) designs the works, draws up the plans and directs their execution: that is the role given to the profession by the first article of Law n° 016-89. Law n° 12-90 on town planning makes the architect's involvement compulsory, together with that of specialist engineers, for any new construction in urban municipalities, delimited centres and their peripheral zones (Article 50) and, outside those perimeters, for any construction of public buildings or buildings for public use (Article 51). It makes the architect responsible for the design, the building permit documents, the conformity of the technical studies with the architectural design and the supervision of the works until the occupancy permit or the certificate of conformity is issued (Article 53).
In public procurement, the architect is bound to the client by an architect's contract (Decree n° 2-22-431, Article 92), awarded by architectural consultation or architectural competition (Article 94).
Engineering consultancy, technical inspection body, laboratory: who checks what?
The engineering consultancy does the technical calculations, the technical inspection body gives a technical opinion on structural soundness, and the laboratory measures the materials and the ground. The client notifies the contractor, by written instruction, of the bodies in charge of technical inspection and quality control (CCAG-Travaux, Article 4).
The engineering consultancy
The engineering consultancy (bureau d'études, مكتب الدراسات) brings together the specialist engineers whom Law n° 12-90 makes responsible for the technical documents of the building and for supervising the corresponding works (Article 53). For the State's design contracts, Decree n° 2-98-984 of 22 March 1999 instituted an approval by field of activity (structures, electricity, piped building services, among others).
The technical inspection body
The technical inspection body (bureau de contrôle) is the organisation in charge of technical inspection. The CCAG-Travaux mentions it without detailing its role, which is set by its own contract. It does give it a part to play in structural soundness: the contractor must refuse to carry out an instruction that has been confirmed despite its reservations if the instruction presents an obvious danger of collapse, with supporting evidence from an expert or a technical inspection body (Article 11). What is at stake is the contractor's ten-year liability, defined by Article 769 of the Dahir forming the Code of Obligations and Contracts, the period of which begins at final acceptance (Article 78).
The laboratory
The construction testing laboratory (laboratoire de BTP, مختبر) carries out tests, quality control of materials and geotechnical tests, all classed among service contracts (Decree n° 2-22-431, Article 4). Materials may be used only after they have been checked and provisionally accepted by the client or by the persons it designates (CCAG-Travaux, Article 42).
What is OPC on a building site?
OPC (ordonnancement, pilotage et coordination: scheduling, steering and coordination) is the role that sequences the tasks over time and coordinates the contractors. The acronym comes from practice and appears neither in Decree n° 2-22-431 nor in the CCAG-Travaux. The CCAG-Travaux provides that, where several contractors work on the same site, the cahier des prescriptions spéciales (CPS, the special conditions of the contract) designates one of them to coordinate the works, and that a general programme is drawn up with the client (Article 32). Where there is a single package, the main contractor coordinates its own trades.
Main contractor and subcontractors: who answers for what?
The contract holder alone answers to the client for the works, including the part it subcontracts. The CCAG-Travaux calls the holder of the contract the contractor (entrepreneur, المقاول). The main contractor (entreprise générale, مقاولة عامة) takes on all the trades of a single contract. Where the contract is subject to it, the qualification and classification certificate for contractors stands in for several documents of the technical file (Decree n° 2-22-431, Article 28).
Subcontracting (sous-traitance, التعاقد من الباطن) is governed by Article 151 of the decree:
- it may not exceed 50% of the contract amount inclusive of all taxes, nor cover the main package or trade, as designated by the cahier des prescriptions spéciales;
- the contract holder sends the client a certified true copy of the subcontract, and the client has fifteen days to reject a subcontractor that does not meet the conditions required of competitors;
- the client recognises no legal relationship with subcontractors: the contract holder remains personally responsible for all the obligations of the contract.
On our sites
A main contractor since 1998, we build for each of these families of clients. The Cour d'appel de Guelmim (Guelmim Court of Appeal) was built on behalf of the Agence Nationale des Équipements Publics, the Centre Hospitalier Régional Charifa (Charifa Regional Hospital) for the Ministère de la Santé (Ministry of Health) and the Jassim & Hamad Bin Jassim Charitable Foundation, and the Centre des Langues de Marrakech (Marrakech Language Centre) for Université Cadi Ayyad. In Tamansourt, we are building the Ksour Tensift III housing for Société Al Omrane Marrakech-Safi.
On those sites the site manager represents the company before the client and coordinates all the trades, including our subsidiaries AHMA ALU, AHMA WOOD and AHMA STEEL. Structural works are carried out by our own teams with our own plant (see our trades). For our new head office, in Marrakech, we are both client and main contractor.
How do you say maître d'ouvrage in Arabic?
Maître d'ouvrage, the client, is صاحب المشروع in Arabic. The Arabic editions of Decree n° 2-22-431 and of the CCAG-Travaux also use:
- delegated client (maître d'ouvrage délégué): صاحب المشروع المنتدب
- delegation of the client's role (maîtrise d'ouvrage déléguée): الإشراف المنتدب على المشروع
- project supervisor (maître d'œuvre): المشرف على الأشغال
- subcontracting (sous-traitance): التعاقد من الباطن
- written instruction (ordre de service): أمر بالخدمة
Our construction glossary in French, Arabic and English brings together many more.
This guide offers general pointers and is no substitute for legal advice: the official text and the cahier des prescriptions spéciales of your contract are authoritative. Our completed works show these roles in action.
Frequently asked questions
What does the term maître d'ouvrage mean?
The maître d'ouvrage is the client: the party on whose behalf the works are built. In Moroccan public procurement, it is the competent authority, or the person that authority designates, which prepares and awards the contract and has it carried out in the name of a public body (Decree n° 2-22-431, Article 4). In Arabic the term is صاحب المشروع.
What is the difference between an AMO and a MOA?
MOA stands for maîtrise d'ouvrage, the function of the party that orders the works. AMO stands for assistance à maîtrise d'ouvrage: a service provider that advises the client without deciding in its place, under a service contract. It should not be confused with the delegated client, a public body that acts in the name and on behalf of the client under an agreement.
What is the difference between the client and the project supervisor?
The client (maître d'ouvrage) orders the works, awards the contract and signs the written instructions. The project supervisor (maître d'œuvre) is the person the client designates to design the works, supervise their execution and, where applicable, inspect them (CCAG-Travaux, Article 3). The contractor, for its part, carries out the works.
Who can be a delegated client in Morocco?
Only a public body can: a public administration, a public establishment, a state-owned company or one of its subsidiaries, a public subsidiary, a regional development company, a development company or a local development company (Decree n° 2-22-431, Article 154). The delegation is made by agreement and covers only works and the studies relating to them. The Agence Nationale des Équipements Publics (National Agency for Public Facilities) performs this role for the public facilities entrusted to it (Law n° 48-17, Article 2).
What share of a public works contract can be subcontracted?
At most 50% of the contract amount inclusive of all taxes, and never the main package or trade (Decree n° 2-22-431, Article 151). The contract holder remains personally responsible for all the obligations of the contract. The client recognises no legal relationship with subcontractors.
What is OPC on a building site?
OPC stands for ordonnancement, pilotage et coordination (scheduling, steering and coordination): the role that plans the tasks and coordinates the contractors present on site. The acronym comes from practice and does not appear in the CCAG-Travaux. The CCAG-Travaux provides that, where several contractors work on the same site, the cahier des prescriptions spéciales designates one of them to coordinate the works (Article 32).
