Tangier Med, a priority partner of the Port of Barcelona in its commitment to sustainability and complementarity
- Barcelona and Tangier Med: two complementary ports
- Sustainability, the basis of port development
- Morocco, a priority for the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce
- Tangier Med, a success story recognised at a world level
- Tangier, a city with an attractive human dimension
- Port Tangier City a humanised space open to the future
- Tanja Marina Bay International and the Port Center of Tangier City
During the 3rd Regional Logistics Meeting, dedicated to the Tangiers-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, some fundamental aspects were highlighted, such as the strategic role of the ports in the development of the territory; the technologies implemented to improve efficiency and competitiveness; the investments in infrastructures and logistics to support port development; and their regional, national and international connectivity.
The second round table of this forum, held at the St Regis Hotel in Tetouan, was entitled "The strategic role of the ports in the development of the territory.
Barcelona and Tangier Med: two complementary ports
Luis Paris, in charge of Automotive and Maritime Transport at the Port of Barcelona, maintained that both this port and the port of Tangier Med constitute extremely important levers for Morocco and Spain, contributing efficiently to the development of the local economy and extending to the international dimension.
According to Paris, it is a logistics platform that contributes to the development of both the Catalan territory and the national economy, and is open to cooperation and collaboration with its counterparts abroad, especially the port of Tangier Med, in a fruitful partnership framework for both parties that is distinguished by complementarity.
"We are not the largest port in Spain, but we are the most important in terms of freight transport. There are new logistical activities to develop", he specified, underlining the importance of commercial logistical diversity and the important added value of the port of Barcelona for both Spain and Morocco.
Sustainability, the basis of port development
With an industrial platform of 5000 hectares, the port of Tangier Med, the first port in Africa and the Mediterranean, has had the ambition to grow since the launch of the project in 2003.
Its development has taken place in several stages, with the opening of the industrial pole in 2005, the opening of the port of Tangier Med 1 in 2007, the opening of the port of Tangier Med 2 in 2019, and its objective of becoming a sustainable and expandable space according to the demand of world trade.
The issue of sustainability is not new in Morocco, but has been on the agenda since 2016, on the occasion of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Marrakech. Since then, some companies have already started to calculate their carbon footprint.
"Morocco is considered a pioneer in the neutralisation of CO2 emissions with the launch of clean credits in 1998, which encouraged the reduction of the carbon footprint," said Zouhair Benjelloun, president of the Moroccan Exporters Association in Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima.
Benjelloun recalled that the first sustainable factory was installed in Tetouan and was powered by wind energy. "Today, Morocco is committed to responsible consumption, based on local products produced in a sustainable manner," he added, stressing the importance of generalising the culture of sustainability in the economic sectors, while waiting for the start of a new phase in the development of a sustainable economy in the hope of starting to pay for this carbon footprint in 2027.
As part of Morocco's strategy to create wealth and jobs, the port trio of Tangier Med, Nador West Med and the Atlantic port of Dakhla will represent a consolidation of national logistics and a significant boost to accompany this sector in terms of imports and exports.
"There is a great harmonisation and coordination between the port of Tangier Med and those of Dakhla and Nador, between whom the logic of complementarity rather than competition reigns", concluded Zouhir Benjelloun.
Morocco, a priority for the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce
Josep María Gómez, Head of International Development of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce underlined that "Barcelona has always considered Morocco as a priority country, granting it the status of partner of honour".
As Gómez explained, the Port of Barcelona has consolidated its partnership with the port of Tangier Med in order to resolve, among other strategic objectives, the problems affecting customs logistics, transport services and the development of port infrastructure.
Along these lines, the international head of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce pointed out that this institution organises sectoral meetings on logistics and trade in Barcelona, to help Moroccan businessmen who wish to access the Spanish market through this city, in particular companies interested in exporting and looking for partners in Spain.
Tangier Med, a success story recognised at a world level
On behalf of the port of Tangier Med, Zouhair Benjelloun underlined that the success achieved by this port is the fruit of the strategic vision of King Mohamed VI, as well as the efforts deployed by the various public and private actors: the port's partners, the operators, the public administrations and the various participants in the development of this vital economic platform of Morocco.
Benjelloun listed the record figures reached by the port complex of Tangier Med in 2022, reaching over seven million containers, two million passengers, 700,000 trucks, 1,200 companies installed in the industrial zone and 100,000 jobs created in various sectors such as aeronautics, electronics, agri-food, textiles, logistics and above all the automotive industry.
The port, with a maximum capacity of nine million containers, seven million passengers and one million vehicles, provides weekly connectivity with more than 180 ports and more than 70 countries on the five continents of the world, and a special connection with West Africa via 40 ports spread over 24 African countries.
In terms of the distribution of container traffic according to the geographical factor, the port carries out 36% of these activities with Africa, 35% with Europe, 18% with Asia and 11% with the transatlantic side.
Leader in Africa and the Mediterranean, the Tangier Med port complex is made up of 3 ports spread over 1,000 hectares: Tangier Med 1, the passenger and road traffic port and the Tangier Med 2 port.
Tangier, a city with an attractive human dimension
Zakia Sekkat, the CEO of Group Poudrox Industries, argued that "Morocco is a net importer of chemical products, so having a sufficient supply of raw materials necessarily requires a port of proximity".
In this sense, Tangier Med basically benefited from the economic activity of the port Tangier City as a commercial port and the evolution of logistics in the Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region thanks to Tangier Med.
"An economic operator must have a logistical vision adapted to its activity, whether by rail, land or sea, to solve operational problems with the Moroccan operator in terms of transport", explained Sekkat, mentioning that "we need transport to reach the African market and for this there is the Atlantic orientation which will be able to solve the logistical difficulties with Africa".
Port Tangier City a humanised space open to the future
Mohammed Ouanaya, Director General of SAPT and SGPTV, underlined that the objective of the development of the port of Tangier City is to position Tangier on the world map of pleasure and cruise ports following the strategic macro-economic decision to bring economic activity to Tangier Med.
"The port of Tangier City has become a vector of animation par excellence, which makes known the enormous potential of the city of Tangier and its history which encompasses eight civilisations", he specified.
Another important factor is the sculpture, restoration and enhancement of the small medina with its historic wall, within the framework of the modernisation not only of the present maritime station and the improvement of the reception conditions and safety of passengers, but also of its urban environment; as well as opening up to the citizen and speaking of the history of the port.
It should be recalled that, with a surface area of 2 800 m², the port welcomes 1.7 million passengers using the Tangier-Tarifa line each year.
Tanja Marina Bay International and the Port Center of Tangier City
Tanja Marina Bay International is the new marina which aims to become the most important in the Strait region, thanks to a range of quality services including ship repair, sale of pleasure boats, nautical schools, as well as shops, parking, cafés and restaurants.
Located on Bab El Marsa Square, in the buildings of the former customs house, the Port Center of Tangier City is a meeting place whose mission is to make the port professions known, understood and appreciated through workshops, educational tours and the organisation of events. A humanised space open to the citizens of the region, local residents and tourists alike.
