Morocco’s Tanger Med to outperform nominal capacity in 2024

Morocco’s Tanger Med is expected to outpace its nominal container capacity this year, as the port strengthens its foothold as a major transshipment hub, a port official told Reuters.

The port is poised to handle more than 9 million containers after 8.6 million containers last year, that is a growth of 13.4% compared to the previous year, Rachid Houari deputy managing director told Reuters.

He said the port is functioning to its best capacity, while building on its geographic location on the Strait of Gibraltar, its partnership with renowned shipowners and port operators, and the quality of services it offers.

The port has posted double digit growth since its launch about a decade ago. In 2020, container traffic grew 20%.

Since 2021, the port has outperformed all Mediterranean peers ranking 19th globally. A recent index issued by the World Bank and Standard and Poors ranked the port in the fourth position in terms of container handling performance.

Houari said the port will exceed its nominal capacity, noting that some terminals like TC1 had already registered container traffic of 2.5 million, compared with its nominal capacity of 1.5 million.

The port also plans to expand its industrial zone from 2500 hectares to 5000 hectares as more manufacturers seek to have plants near the port, Reuters said.