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Rabat- Najib Boulif has announced that 53,200 travelers left Morocco from Tangier Med Port on Wednesday, the highest single-day number since Operation “Marhaba” launch.
The secretary of state to the minister of equipment, transport, logistics, and water said in a statement on Facebook that the Marhaba 2018 operation, which began on June 5 to welcome home Moroccans living abroad, has seen “exceptional developments.”
Boulif drew attention to the number of Moroccan travelers returning abroad on the same day, noting that Morocco has never witnessed a similar record before.
Due to the large number of travelers leaving Morocco at the same time, many had to wait longer than they planned to pass through the port. The secretary expects that “the registered number of travelers on Thursday will most likely” be as high as that of Wednesday.
Boulif added that Morocco and Spain are working together to find solutions to the situation, considering adding another ship to the ferry route to reduce overcrowdedness.
According to Tangier Med Port Authority, a total of 842,698 passengers have entered Morocco through Tangier Med from June to August.
During the same period, 371,861 passengers, 118,579 vehicles and 1,695 buses left Morocco through the same port which is a veritable gateway to Africa and Europe.
On July 29 alone, the port received 33,091 travelers coming to spend Eid al-Adha with their families. Morocco celebrated Eid al-Adha (festival of sacrifice) on August 22.
Tangier Med Port has established itself as the first in Africa, owing to its notable performance this year.
Tangier’s two container terminals handled 1,668,566 containers in the first six months of 2018. A port statement shared in July announced that 252,194 cars were handled in both terminals during the first six months of 2018, representing an increase of 18 percent compared to the first half of 2017.
