Morocco is preparing an 8 billion Moroccan dirham, equivalent to $815 million, expansion of the Tanger Med industrial port complex. The project will bolster Mediterranean cargo-handling and energy infrastructure as the new Nador West Med port nears its opening.
King Mohammed VI reviewed both maritime projects on October 28. Nador is due to begin operating within days, according to a Royal Office statement.
The new transshipment port in northeastern Morocco has attracted 54 billion dirhams in public and private investment. Its planned energy facilities include potential hydrocarbon storage of 4 million cubic meters and liquefied natural gas processing capacity of 5 billion cubic meters annually.
The Tanger Med 3 project will add capacity for 4.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units annually, supported by 1,200 metres of quays. A concession agreement has been signed with Maersk-APM for the terminal.
The wider port development comes as shipping disruptions across the region highlight the importance of maritime routes connecting Europe, Africa and Asia. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, speaking in Cairo on October 26, called for navigational rights and freedoms to be restored around the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab.
The Royal Office stated that the aim is to develop an efficient port system capable of strengthening competitiveness in the face of the restructuring of global value chains. The expansion could raise Tanger Med’s total container-handling capacity to 20 million TEUs, reinforcing Morocco’s position in Mediterranean trade as global supply chains evolve.
The investment follows rising traffic at the facility. The port handled 11.1 million TEUs, up 8.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the port authority. Tanger Med attributed that growth primarily to the latest expansion of its TC4 terminal, operated by APM Terminals.
The LNG project at Nador West Med could give Morocco another route for importing gas after Algeria halted supplies through the Maghreb-Europe pipeline at the end of October 2021, following the expiry of the transit agreement. Reverse flows from Spain to Morocco began in June 2022. An LNG import terminal would diversify Morocco’s supply options, though it would not shield the country from international gas prices or shipping disruptions.
Nador West Med’s first container terminal is ultimately expected to handle 3.5 million TEUs annually. A second terminal, with capacity for 1.8 million TEUs, is scheduled to enter service in April 2027. The two terminals represent a separate 8 billion dirhams in private investment, according to the Royal Office.
