Tanger Med Port $500 Million Expansion to Double Capacity

Rabat – Tanger Med, Morocco’s largest port and a key logistics hub in the Mediterranean, has announced a major investment exceeding MAD 5 billion ($500 million) to expand its dedicated truck terminal.

The project aims to double the terminal’s capacity to meet the growing demand from Morocco’s booming trade, particularly with the European Union, the country’s primary export market.

Tanger Med handled over 516,000 trucks in 2024, marking an 8.1% increase compared to the previous year. According to the port’s CEO, Mehdi Tazi, the expansion will eventually raise the terminal’s capacity to one million trucks annually, keeping pace with Morocco’s rising exports in sectors such as automotive, aerospace, and agri-food industries.

Strategically located on the Strait of Gibraltar in northern Morocco, Tanger Med serves as a critical logistics platform, connecting to more than 180 ports worldwide. The port complex, operated by the Tanger Med Special Agency (TMSA), spans approximately 3,000 hectares, combining cargo and passenger terminals with integrated economic zones — all powered entirely by renewable energy.

The expansion project is primarily financed through international loans, including MAD 2 billion $200 million from JPMorgan and about MAD 2 billion ($200 million) from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a World Bank Group institution. The remaining funds will come from Tanger Med’s own resources.

Tazi emphasized that the project reflects the port’s role as a driver of Morocco’s export growth to Europe. He noted that the port continues to play a vital part in advancing Morocco’s position as a competitive industrial and trade hub in the region.

Tanger Med already ranks first in Africa and the Mediterranean for container handling and is currently 17th globally. In 2024, the port handled around 10 million containers, marking an 18.8% rise compared to the previous year.

Since its launch, Tanger Med has become one of Morocco’s most ambitious strategic projects. It attracted cumulative investments of MAD 130 billion ($13 billion) by the end of 2024, split between public and private sectors.

The Tanger Med Group continues to invest around MAD 1 billion ($100 million) annually to develop its infrastructure further, alongside investments from roughly 1,400 companies operating in the zone — predominantly in industrial sectors, with the largest Renault plant in Africa and the Middle East located on site.