Nine years in construction, Morocco’s $1.3bn Tanger Med 2 port has opened, becoming the largest both in Africa and the Mediterranean, and one of the 20 largest ports in the world.
The second and final phase of the project was to construct 1.6km of docks and an automated container terminal. The terminal will add 5 million containers a year to the capacity of the existing Tanger Med port, creating a “mega-hub” with the ability to handle up to 9 million containers.
Declared open on Friday, the port will be operated by Maersk’s APM Terminals, which also invested $800m in its construction.
Morten Engelstoft, chief executive Officer of APM, commented: “APM Terminals has a long-term relationship with Morocco and we are proud to be operating the second container terminal in the Tanger Med Port complex. APM Terminals MedPort Tangier is a key junction in our global network allowing us to serve our customers better and further facilitate global trade.”
The construction work was led by Bouygues of France and Boskalis of the Netherlands. Boskalis used some 200 million cubic feet of sand to reclaim about 110 acres for the terminal.
The expanded port is surrounded by an industrial complex containing more than 750 companies, including the 300 ha Tanger Automotive City, completed in 2011 and offering a free-trade zone for companies in the vehicle supply industry.
Image: Tanger Med 2 was built on reclaimed land (APM Terminals)
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Great project