Morocco’s Tanger Med port to surpass nominal containers capacity

Morocco’s Tanger Med port anticipates surpassing its nominal processing capacity of 9 million containers this year, with the deputy managing director stating that Red Sea security issues minimally impacted traffic growth, Reuters reported.

Last year, it remained the largest Mediterranean port, handling 8.61 million TEUs, up 13.4 per cent from 2022.

First-quarter figures showed a 14.9 per cent tonnage increase to 33.3 million metric tons, with revenue rising 18.3 per cent to $1 billion.

“We also grew in terms of containers,” Rachid Houari told Reuters, withholding the exact figure. “Each terminal now exceeds theoretical capacity, indicating we’ll surpass nine million containers,” he said, emphasising productivity optimisation, particularly at terminal TC1. The port’s growth drivers include strategic location, connectivity with 180 ports, and partnerships with major operators.

Despite benefiting from redirected container ships around Africa, Red Sea traffic accounts for only 25 per cent. The port aims to expand industrial zones from 2,500 to 5,000 hectares to attract high-value-added industries, having generated $15 billion in exports last year, constituting 20 per cent of Morocco’s total.