Marrakech – Nador West Med has moved closer to full commercial operations after its East Container Terminal successfully completed operational trials, clearing the facility to receive its first commercial vessel calls.
West Med Container Terminal (WMCT), the concessionaire operating the facility, announced on Thursday that the terminal had completed months of operational preparation and was now ready to begin handling commercial traffic.
The milestone followed a successful trial vessel call conducted under real operating conditions, allowing WMCT to test the terminal’s equipment, workforce coordination, and operational procedures before regular services begin.
Preparatory work included completing terminal installations, receiving and deploying equipment, rolling out operating systems, establishing procedures, and recruiting and training personnel. WMCT noted that the entire preparation phase was completed ahead of the original schedule.
The trial call then put those systems and teams through a full operational test, validating the terminal’s ability to coordinate vessel and landside operations efficiently.
According to WMCT, the results confirmed that the East Terminal is equipped to accommodate the world’s largest container ships, bringing Nador West Med to the threshold of commercial activity and strengthening its ambition to emerge as a major Mediterranean transshipment hub.
A major new pillar of Morocco’s port strategy
WMCT is controlled by Moroccan port operator Marsa Maroc, which holds 50% plus one share, while Terminal Investment Limited (TIL), the terminal-operating arm associated with global shipping giant MSC, holds 50% minus one share. The partnership was finalized in January after receiving regulatory approval.
The East Terminal has 1,520 meters of quay, an 18-meter draft, and around 70 hectares of container yards. At full capacity, it is designed to handle approximately 3.4 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) annually. Marsa Maroc had previously scheduled the first phase to enter service during the final quarter of 2026.
Its opening forms part of the broader Nador West Med industrial-port complex, one of Morocco’s largest infrastructure projects on the Mediterranean coast. The development combines container handling with industrial, logistics, hydrocarbon and energy infrastructure.
Earlier this year, Morocco’s Royal Office put combined public and private investment in the wider project at MAD 51 billion ($5.1 billion), noting that its basic port infrastructure, including 5.4 kilometers of breakwaters and four kilometers of quays, had been completed. At launch, the overall port is expected to offer annual capacity of around 5 million containers and 35 million tonnes of liquid and solid bulk cargo.
Nador West Med is also developing a second container operation involving Marsa Maroc and CMA CGM, further tying the new port to some of the world’s largest maritime networks.
Located on Morocco’s Mediterranean coast near major East-West shipping routes, the complex is designed to expand the kingdom’s role in international transshipment, logistics and industrial trade.
Read also: Nador West Med Secures MAD 2.1 Billion Financing for Container Terminal
