El puerto marroquí de Tánger Med comienza el proceso para digitalizarse
Tangier Med, one of the most important ports in Morocco, as well as in the whole of the Mediterranean Sea, has announced that, as from 15 February this year, the administrative services and formalities inside the building will be totally digitised. This was announced by the operating authorities, who hope that the measure will be implemented correctly in the coming years, especially in the cargo and logistics services.
It should be noted that this digitisation had already been in place for some time and years, while paper was still used for all formalities. Now, the use of paper will be eliminated from the entire system and anyone working within the complex will have to use digital means to carry out any process.
To this end, the Tangier Med statement announces that operators and workers within the port will have smartphones, tablets and computers at their disposal for any task. If they want to carry out any required procedure, they will only have to access an online platform created by the port - www.tangermedpcs.com- and within this, they will be able to provide all the necessary electronic documents. Furthermore, when carrying out the procedure, operators will have the possibility to obtain invoicing and pay for the services online.
Thus, paper will no longer be used, in accordance with the plan of the State and the Moroccan government to digitalise all administrative and technical services in the country, such as consignment, handling, phytosanitary control, etc. Moreover, Tangier Med will become an example in favour of the environment, being one of the ports with these measures. It will also make it a leader which can compete with Western ports.
The Port of Tangier Med is the largest port in Morocco. It was inaugurated in 2007 and is located in the city of Oued Rmel, some 40 kilometres from Tangier. It is a strategic location, as it is at the gates of the Mediterranean Sea, which allows it to be a key point in the commercial maritime routes at the entrance to Europe and Africa, and the departure of ships to America. Its main activity is importing and exporting containers, bulk and hydrocarbons, as well as passengers and tourists.
In 2021, the port became a leader in container storage. In that year alone, it was able to handle 24% more containers, amounting to more than 7.17 million containers. "This is the result of the steady increase of the Tangier Med 2 port following the commissioning of the TC4 terminals in 2019 and TC3 in 2021," said the port institution in one of its latest communiqués.
The same sources also assure that last year more than 101 million tonnes of goods passed through the Moroccan port and some were even handled within the port facilities, representing an increase of 5%. Added to this is the good agricultural harvest in the Kingdom, which allowed large exports through Tangier Med.
The only data showing a decrease is the number of passengers passing through the area. Since June, when the transit of people was resumed, just over 700,000 people have been registered, which is 75% less than in 2019. The pandemic situation and the various border closures that Morocco has faced have led to further losses for tourism in the port, while there has been a sharp decline in stopovers due to the inability to disembark in the country.
The international relevance of the complex was already evident at the outset. In 2008, it was able to collect a traffic of one million containers, which is a very good figure for a port which has just started operating. By 2013, only five years after its inauguration, it became the largest hub of commercial activity in Africa. From this moment, expansion works began and today, Tangier Med has four terminals capable of handling millions of containers.
