Rabat – Morocco’s Minister of Transport and Logistics, Mohammed Abdeljalil, said on Tuesday that his ministry is in the process of launching a study for the creation of a “strong and competitive” national Maritime commercial fleet.
The news comes less than a month following King Mohammed VI’s speech calling on the government to leverage Morocco’s Atlantic coastal front to boost economic development.
Abdeljalil explained that the study “will diagnose the current status of commercial navigation to align it with the best international practices, aiming to create favorable conditions to encourage investment in this sector.”
Maritime trade is closely linked to the development of port sectors. Morocco is already working on developing important port hubs along the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts, and ensuring they are connected to vital infrastructure such as highway networks and railways.
This strategy has already allowed the country to attract international investment in maritime transport, elevating Morocco’s maritime connectivity index internationally, ranking it 20th globally, as it is now connected to more than 184 ports in 71 countries.
In recent years, Morocco has invested heavily in infrastructure projects to boost maritime trade. The Tangier Med Port is the crown jewel of the country’s strategy to boost maritime trade.
Inaugurated in 2007, the port is now one of the most important in the North African and Mediterranean region. In 2022, it ranked 4th in the World Bank’s CPPI 2022, ranking global container port performance, making it the most efficient port in Europe and North Africa.
The port has received other top accolades, including being ranked as the third most efficient container port in the world by the specialized website Priceonomics, and ranking as the world’s 23rd largest port, according to data provider Alphaliner.
Meanwhile, the under-construction Dakhla Atlantic port, a $3.3 billion project, is expected to further contribute to the development of Morocco’s maritime trade with the Americas and Western Africa. To which extent the addition of a domestic commercial fleet can contribute to this development, will now be studied by the Ministry of Transport and Logistics.
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