Two experts have stated that the Tangier Med – a new port in the Moroccan coastal city – would transform the country into a commercial and investment gateway in the African continent, and would add an important economic dimension to the city.
Salman Bonaamane, head of Dar Al-Maarif for Research and Statistics, said that “the new expansion of the Tangier Med will make Morocco a gateway to international investments in the African continent.”
Bonaamane added that “the port is designated to provide logistics for companies and industrial forces willing to invest in Africa.”
He asserted that, by expanding this port, Morocco aspires to become a strategic region, a locomotive, a gateway and a platform for investments in Africa. Thus, the Moroccan authorities are planning to become a trade partner, not just providing a transit zone.
An economic expert, Omar Kettani, confirmed that the port will achieve economic dynamism after transforming the city of Tangier, north of Morocco, from a normal city to an industrial and commercial zone.
Kettani highlighted that the port gave Tangier an important economic dimension, so as to realize a shift of industrial concentration from the city of Casablanca to other regions.
He pointed out that the Tangier Med presents an opportunity for Morocco to take advantage of its unique geographical location.
The economic analyst explained that the port constitutes the largest trade station to the nearest global market, i.e. the EU market, and offers the easiest way to connect with West Africa.
He stressed that the future of the global economy is in Africa. Thus, Tangier would become a point of global trade in the continent, particularly West Africa.
Kettani indicated that all trade hubs directed to Africa will pass through the Tangier Med.
Morocco announced, at the end of June 2019, the launch of construction works at the Tangier Med 2, in order to transform it to the largest port of its kind on the shores of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean.
Last Thursday, king of Morocco Mohammed VI inaugurated the second construction phase of the Tangier-Med, which is expected to generate revenues to the country’s treasury starting from the second half of 2019.
Prior to the inauguration of the new expansion works, the total volume of goods transported in the port during 2018 reached more than 52,240 million tonnes, i.e. a 2 per cent growth compared with 2017.
Tangier Med is a worldwide logistics gateway on the Strait of Gibraltar, which is connected to 186 ports worldwide in 77 countries.
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