After the international success of Tanger Med, which has become the leading port hub in Africa and the Mediterranean, the new Nador West Med project extends the ambition to build an efficient national port system
King Mohammed VI chaired, on Wednesday, January 28 at the Royal
Palace in Casablanca, a working meeting devoted to the new Nador West
Med port and industrial complex. This working meeting, which comes
in view of the operational launch of this port during the 4th quarter of
this year, is part of the royal vision to sustainably link Morocco’s
economy to global value chains, through the establishment of first-rate
port infrastructure.
During the working meeting, a presentation was made to the King by
Fouad Brini, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Nador West Med, on
the progress of the project as well as on the achievements to date.
After the international success of Tanger Med, which has become the
leading port hub in Africa and the Mediterranean, the new Nador West
Med project extends the ambition to build an efficient and
complementary national port system, at the service of the competitiveness of the national economy, job creation and the balanced development of the territories. Designed as an integrated project, it is based on a new-generation port complex, backed by a vast industrial,logistics and energy platform.
To date, it has mobilized public and private investments worth 51 billion
dirhams (MAD). On the port side, all the basic infrastructure, now
completed, includes 5.4 km of dikes, 4 linear km of quays and 4 energy
substations. The two container terminals, for which the port concession
contracts have been signed, will gradually enter service this year.
Nador West Med is also deploying a new offer, an energy hub including
the Kingdom’s first liquefied natural gas terminal, with an annual
capacity of 5 billion m3, as well as a hydrocarbon terminal. This
strategic component directly responds to the Kingdom’s energy
sovereignty requirements.
At start-up, the port will have an annual capacity of 5 million containers
and 35 million tonnes of liquid and solid bulk. In the long term, the
additional annual development potential is 12 million containers and 15
million tonnes of liquid bulk. Backing onto the port complex, the
project also provides for the deployment of new business parks, with an
area of 700 hectares in a first phase, which have already registered the
first installations of international operators.
The private investments confirmed to date in this new port and
industrial complex, for a total amount of MAD 20 billion, testify to the
confidence placed in Morocco by leading international operators.
At the end of this presentation, the King gave his instructions to take all
the necessary measures by the various stakeholders to guarantee the
start of the project in the best conditions, and to proceed with the rapid
implementation of specific training programs to support investors,
facilitate the integration of young people and improve their
employability.
The Sovereign also gave his instructions to ensure that the impact of
these investments benefits all the provinces that are part of the port’s
area of influence, to accompany the project with territorial upgrading
programs to improve the living environment in the region, and to carry
out a multidimensional action plan that preserves the future
development of the project.
This working meeting took place in the presence of Abdelouafi Laftit,
Minister of the Interior, Nadia Fettah, Minister of Economy and Finance,
Nizar Baraka, Minister of Equipment and Water, Ryad Mezzour, Minister
of Industry and Trade, and Leila Benali, Minister of Energy Transition
and Sustainable Development.
source : ledesk
