Rabat – Morocco’s Ministry of Transport is preparing a “major fleet plan” focused on port infrastructure as part of its preparation for Operation Marhaba 2022.
Operation Marhaba is an annual event that facilitates the transit of Moroccans residing abroad for the summer holidays.
Morocco’s Director General of Ports and Marine Merchants, Amane Fathallah, said that 32 ships will be mobilized to ensure 572 weekly rotations, offering a total capacity of 471,000 passengers and 124,000 vehicles per week.
Fathallah is a member of the Moroccan-Spanish transit commission, which held a high-level meeting on Thursday to discuss the ongoing preparations for Operation Marhaba 2022.
Fathallah said that 14 ships will be mobilized on the Tanger Med-Algeciras route, adding that the ships will be able to carry out 47 rotations per day.
“To facilitate flow management, tickets will be sold this year with reservation, including for short-haul,” she said.
Passenger traffic is separated from truck traffic to ensure better “fluidity” at the ports.
Like Morocco, Spain is also satisfied with preparations for the upcoming Operation Marhaba.
Spain’s Undersecretary of State for the Interior Isabel Goicoechea represented the Spanish government at Thursday’s meeting.
Goicoechea said that since 1986, “the bilateral collaboration between Morocco and Spain has allowed the Marhaba Operation to be executed successfully.”
Morocco had excluded Spain from 2021’s Operation Marhaba due to an unprecedented diplomatic crisis. Tensions emerged following Spain’s decision to host Polisario leader Brahim Ghali for hospitalization.
Spain mended relations with Morocco just recently in March, after it decided to officially endorse Morocco’s Autonomy Plan as the most serious and credible basis to end the dispute over the Western Sahara region.
