Secondary City Master Drainage Design and Urban Asset Lifecycle Maintenance in Marrakech

Programme Overview

Rapid urban growth in secondary cities places immense strain on storm drainage networks, natural outfalls, and collector roads. This intensive five-day programme in Marrakech equips municipal technical teams with core engineering methodologies to design integrated stormwater master plans and establish lifecycle asset management regimes. Participants examine hydrological modelling, channel hydraulics, and catchment-level interventions designed to protect secondary urban centres from recurrent flood hazards, severe surface erosion, and uncoordinated physical development.

The curriculum combines technical design standards with institutional management practices required by multilateral development finance institutions. Urban planning directors and civil engineers will explore the integration of multi-hazard spatial zoning, nature-based drainage solutions, and engineered concrete infrastructure. Through structured practical exercises, attendees learn to assess catchment dynamics, run drainage calculations using standard international frameworks, and establish spatial protection buffers that safeguard critical urban infrastructure corridors against severe hydro-meteorological events.

Beyond primary capital investments, this course addresses the systemic challenge of premature asset deterioration. Infrastructure coordinators will evaluate scheduled maintenance protocols, performance-based contracting mechanisms, and asset inventory registries necessary to preserve secondary municipal roads and drainage canals. Drawing on comparative urban works and drainage networks in Morocco, participants produce actionable maintenance schedules, risk-informed capital expenditure plans, and robust procurement specifications suitable for major donor-financed urban resilience programmes.

Secondary cities across West Africa face escalating flood risks, unchecked spatial expansion, and rapid siltation of public waterways. This operational training addresses core civil works components under large-scale urban resilience frameworks, such as the US$200m Building Resilient and Inclusive Cities Programme targeting municipal flood mitigation. Technical teams must urgently upgrade their capability to design comprehensive drainage master plans, enforce hazard-informed land zoning, and execute sustainable maintenance contracts that protect donor investments and urban communities over the long term.

Delivered by Risalat Consultants International in Marrakech, Morocco, it combines expert-led sessions, real cases and group work, so that participants can apply what they learn in their own institution.

The Programme Strengthens Institutional Capability

• Catchment delineation, runoff estimation, and rainfall intensity-duration-frequency (IDF) curve analysis
• Open channel hydraulics and culvert design standards based on the FHWA Hydraulic Design Series
• Developing master drainage schemes for secondary cities: gravity outfalls and retention basins
• Integrating nature-based solutions: sustainable urban drainage systems (SuDS) and infiltration zones
• Benchmarking drainage layout typologies using Marrakech flood diversion canals and peri-urban networks
• Terrain elevation models, flood hazard mapping, and hydro-geomorphic vulnerability assessments
• Enforcing non-aedificandi zones, public easements, and natural outfall protection corridors
• Coordination mechanisms between municipal master plans (SDAU/PDU) and drainage sector plans
• Infrastructure planning and prioritisation
• Project appraisal and business cases
• Financing options and public-private partnerships
• Procurement and contracting for works

It is designed for municipal technical services engineers, urban planning directors and municipal cartographers, municipal infrastructure project coordinators and others who want practical, current skills in infrastructure, urban development and partnerships.

The Growing Importance of Secondary City Master Drainage Design and Urban Asset Lifecycle Maintenance in Marrakech

Infrastructure and urban services shape growth, health and opportunity. Projects are large, complex and long-lived, and weaknesses in planning, financing or delivery are costly to fix later.

Governments increasingly combine public investment, partnerships with the private sector and new technologies. Teams who can plan, appraise, procure and manage these investments deliver better assets and services.

Organisations increasingly require professionals capable of:

• Plan and prioritise infrastructure investments
• Appraise projects and prepare business cases
• Choose financing and delivery models
• Supervise works for time, cost and quality
• Manage assets over their life

Strong infrastructure, urban development and partnerships systems help organisations:

• Select the right investments
• Deliver projects on time and on budget
• Attract financing and partners
• Keep assets working for longer

This Secondary City Master Drainage Design and Urban Asset Lifecycle Maintenance in Marrakech programme brings these elements together in a practical format, so that participants understand not only what good practice looks like but also how to introduce it in their own setting, with the people and resources they have.

Who Should Attend This Secondary City Master Drainage Design and Urban Asset Lifecycle Maintenance in Marrakech Training?

This programme is designed for:

• Municipal technical services engineers
• Urban planning directors and municipal cartographers
• Municipal infrastructure project coordinators
• Civil engineers managing urban flood resilience works
• Project Implementation Unit (PIU) infrastructure specialists
• Public works directors in secondary city administrations
• Ministry of Urban Planning and Local Government technical advisors
• Drainage asset maintenance supervisors and municipal inspectors
• Procurement specialists managing FIDIC civil works contracts
• Infrastructure and urban planners
• Engineers and technical managers
• Project and programme managers

The programme suits experienced professionals as well as those moving into new responsibilities. Groups that mix institutions and countries are encouraged, because participants learn a great deal from each other’s experience.

Secondary City Master Drainage Design and Urban Asset Lifecycle Maintenance in Marrakech Training Objectives

Upon successful completion of this Secondary City Master Drainage Design and Urban Asset Lifecycle Maintenance in Marrakech Training, participants will be able to:

• Analyse catchment hydrology and stormwater hydraulics using standard rational and hydrodynamic formulas
• Design resilient urban drainage master plans that incorporate primary, secondary, and tertiary canals
• Incorporate multi-hazard municipal land zoning and spatial flood buffers into physical development plans
• Structure sustainable operations and maintenance frameworks for secondary city road and drainage assets
• Draft performance-based maintenance contracts using World Bank and standard multilateral procurement regulations
• Formulate multi-year capital investment plans prioritising flood mitigation interventions in vulnerable urban zones
• Establish GIS-compatible urban drainage asset registries to track lifecycle deterioration and maintenance backlogs
• Explain how infrastructure is planned and prioritised
• Appraise projects and prepare a business case
• Compare financing and delivery models, including partnerships

Each objective is practised during the programme through exercises, cases or group work, so that participants leave able to do it, not only to describe it.

Programme Contents and Structure

Secondary City Master Drainage Design and Urban Asset Lifecycle Maintenance in Marrakech Training Methodology

The training employs a practical, practitioner-led methodology combining engineering lectures, technical problem-solving clinics, and municipal case studies. Participants work in collaborative project teams to review authentic drainage master plans, calculate hydraulic discharge capacities, and draft maintenance contract schedules. The programme integrates local technical site inspections in Marrakech to analyse operational urban retention structures and secondary canal systems, enabling direct application to donor-funded resilience projects in participants' home countries.

The programme combines:

• Expert-led sessions on current practice
• Regional and international case studies
• Group work and practical exercises
• Simulations and role plays where relevant
• Discussion of participants' own challenges
• Peer learning across institutions and countries
• Practical tools and templates to take back to work
• Daily reflection and action planning

Before the programme, a short pre-assessment helps the facilitators understand each participant’s role and priorities, so that examples and exercises can be adjusted to the group. Each day ends with a short reflection in which participants note what they will apply at work.

Expected Outcomes

Upon completion of this Secondary City Master Drainage Design and Urban Asset Lifecycle Maintenance in Marrakech Training, participants will be able to:

• Proficiency in calculating stormwater runoff and sizing open canals, culverts, and attenuation ponds
• Capability to delineate municipal flood hazard zones and align local master plans with drainage needs
• Completed technical framework for a secondary city master drainage plan addressing local flood risks
• Comprehensive lifecycle maintenance plan for municipal road pavements and drainage infrastructure
• Readiness to prepare performance-based procurement documents aligned with donor guidelines
• Functional templates for tracking municipal drainage asset condition and scheduling routine desiltation
• Plan and prioritise infrastructure investments
• Appraise projects and prepare business cases

Participants leave with a personal action plan and practical tools they can use in their institution from the first week back. Institutions that send several participants can use the programme to agree shared methods and templates across teams, which makes improvements easier to sustain.

Institutional Application of Secondary City Master Drainage Design and Urban Asset Lifecycle Maintenance in Marrakech Training

This programme supports organisations in strengthening:

• Investment planning
• Project appraisal
• Partnership management
• Works supervision
• Asset management

Participants return with practical tools to improve:

• Business cases
• Risk allocation
• Contract management
• Maintenance planning
• Service monitoring

The programme is built so that learning moves from the classroom into the institution. Participants work on their own processes and documents where possible, and leave with an action plan that their managers can review and support.

Regional Relevance & Application

Europe

European institutions apply infrastructure, urban development and partnerships within detailed regulatory frameworks and reform agendas. Participants from Europe can compare their practice with colleagues from other regions and test how established methods work under different conditions.

Africa

Across Africa, ministries, agencies and project teams working in infrastructure, urban development and partnerships increasingly operate alongside donor-financed programmes that expect clear systems and evidence. The programme helps participants adapt good practice to the institutions and resources they work with.

Middle East

In the Middle East, national development strategies and diversification plans place growing demands on infrastructure, urban development and partnerships. Participants explore how to build the capability these plans need inside public bodies and companies.

Asia

Institutions across Asia combine rapid growth with ambitious modernisation programmes. Participants from Asia can share their experience of scaling systems quickly and learn from approaches used elsewhere.

Pacific

Small island and Pacific states face particular constraints of size, distance and capacity. The programme highlights practical, proportionate approaches to infrastructure, urban development and partnerships that suit smaller institutions.

Holding the programme in Marrakech, Morocco brings participants together away from their daily pressures, so they can compare how infrastructure, urban development and partnerships is handled in different settings. The same programme can also be delivered in-house for one institution, in its own country or online, with cases taken from its current work.

Host Country Profile – Morocco

Training programmes in Marrakech are suited to public sector governance, infrastructure planning, tourism management, and regional development. The location attracts participants from North Africa, West Africa, and the Middle East seeking practical operational exposure within a regional hub.

Studying away from their own country gives participants time to focus, a fresh view of their own institution and the chance to build a network with colleagues from other countries.

Secondary City Master Drainage Design and Urban Asset Lifecycle Maintenance in Marrakech Training Deliverables

Participants receive support before, during and after the programme, so that preparation, learning and follow-up form one continuous experience.

Before the Programme

• Participant Pre-Assessment
• Secondary City Master Drainage Design and Urban Asset Lifecycle Maintenance in Marrakech Readiness Assessment
• Secondary City Master Drainage Design and Urban Asset Lifecycle Maintenance in Marrakech Resource Pack
• Preparatory Reading Materials
• Complimentary Visa Support & Advisory

During the Programme

• Airport Pickup & Welcome Assistance
• Accommodation with Breakfast
• Welcome Networking Dinner
• Risalat Training Kit (Bag, Bottle, Mug, T-Shirt, Cap, Passport Cover, Pens, Notebook, Magnet & Keychain)
• Comprehensive Secondary City Master Drainage Design and Urban Asset Lifecycle Maintenance in Marrakech Training Manual
• Project Appraisal Template
• PPP Risk Allocation Matrix
• Works Supervision Checklist
• Asset Management Plan Template
• Practical Workshops & Simulations
• Group Discussions & Peer Learning
• Daily Lunch and Refreshments
• Full Access to Training Venue Facilities
• Mini Pad / Tablet with Digital Learning Materials
• Field Visit (where applicable)
• Entertaining City Tour

After the Programme

• Certificate of Completion
• Risalat Programme Participation Recognition Award
• Post-Training Reference Materials
• Business Case Review Checklist
• Maintenance Planning Template
• Post-Training Support & Follow-Up Guidance
• Programme Report

Institutions can also request a tailored in-house version of this programme, delivered at their premises or online. Request a proposal.

Common Challenges in Secondary City Master Drainage Design and Urban Asset Lifecycle Maintenance in Marrakech, And How This Training Helps

How can institutions plan and prioritise infrastructure investments?

The programme addresses this directly on the first day (Urban Hydrology and Catchment-Level Master Drainage Planning), where participants practise the methods involved and adapt them to their own institution, then build it into their action plan.

How can institutions appraise projects and prepare business cases?

The programme addresses this directly on the second day (Multi-Hazard Spatial Planning and Flood-Informed Land Zoning), where participants practise the methods involved and adapt them to their own institution, then build it into their action plan.

How can institutions choose financing and delivery models?

The programme addresses this directly on the third day (Engineering Design of Municipal Roads and Drainage Infrastructure), where participants practise the methods involved and adapt them to their own institution, then build it into their action plan.

How can institutions supervise works for time, cost and quality?

The programme addresses this directly on the fourth day (Urban Asset Management and Lifecycle Preservation Strategies), where participants practise the methods involved and adapt them to their own institution, then build it into their action plan.

How can institutions manage assets over their life?

The programme addresses this directly on the fifth day (Procurement, Maintenance Contracting, and Investment Programming), where participants practise the methods involved and adapt them to their own institution, then build it into their action plan.

Frequently Asked Questions

When and where does the Secondary City Master Drainage Design and Urban Asset Lifecycle Maintenance in Marrakech programme take place?

It runs from 11 Jan 2027 to 15 Jan 2027, in Marrakech, Morocco. The registration deadline is shown at the top of this page.

Who should attend?

The programme is designed for municipal technical services engineers, urban planning directors and municipal cartographers, municipal infrastructure project coordinators, civil engineers managing urban flood resilience works, and others who want practical skills in infrastructure, urban development and partnerships.

Will I receive a certificate?

Yes. Participants who complete the programme receive a Certificate of Completion from Risalat Consultants International.

Can this programme be delivered for our institution only?

Yes. We can deliver a tailored in-house version at your premises, in another city or online, built around your own cases. Use the proposal request on this page.

Do I need prior experience in infrastructure, urban development and partnerships?

No specialist background is required beyond experience in a related role. A short pre-assessment helps the facilitators adapt the sessions to the group.

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