Rabat – Morocco’s Tanger Med Port is poised to surpass its nominal processing capacity of nine million containers this year, the port’s Deputy Managing Director, Rachid Houari, told Reuters on Tuesday.
The port has continued to experience robust traffic growth despite security issues in the Red Sea, Houari explained, adding that Tanger Med is on track to exceed its nominal capacity of nine million containers in 2024.
This growth comes at a time of ongoing alarming security threats in the Red Sea, which have had minimal impact on the port’s operations.
Last year, Tanger Med solidified its status as the largest port in the Mediterranean by handling 8.61 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), marking a significant 13.4% increase from 2022.
The upward trend has continued into 2024, with the first quarter seeing a 14.9% rise in tonnage to 33.3 million metric tons and an 18.3% revenue increase to 1 billion dirhams ($100 million).
“We also grew by a certain percentage in terms of containers,” Houari said, although he noted that the exact figures would be available at the end of the year.
Last week, Tangier Med ranked fourth in the World Container Port Performance Index (CPPI) for 2023, marking its second consecutive year as the top port in both Africa and Europe.
The index evaluated 405 container ports worldwide. East and Southeast Asian ports dominated the top 20, with Tangier Med standing out as a leading port outside this region.
Tangier Med’s impressive performance is also reflected in its operational statistics. In 2023, the port handled a record 8.6 million containers, a 13.4% increase from the previous year.
The number of vessels transiting through the port rose by 17% to 16,900. This increased traffic translated into a financial upturn, with the port’s revenue growing by 18.3% to $1 billion in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period last year.
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