AfDB Supports Port Project In Morocco With Additional €57m Grant

Posted by Eric Ojo African News, Latest Headlines, North Africa Thursday, June 2nd, 2022

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved additional financing of €57 million for construction of the Nador West Med port complex in Morocco.

The new financing tranche follows an earlier one of nearly €113 million that the AfDB extended in 2015 to the North African nation.

The Nador West Med project entails construction of two terminals for twenty-foot-equivalent containers with a capacity of three million tonnes, a specialized bulk berth of four million tonnes and a general cargo terminal of 33 million tonnes.

The project will also increase the logistics competitiveness of Morocco’s economy and secure the country’s supply of hydrocarbons, attracting part of the international maritime traffic that passes through the Mediterranean basin.

In addition, the port facilities will be complemented by an integrated economic zone featuring commercial, industrial, logistics and tertiary hubs, and which is expected to create jobs.

It will also offer synergies with Tanger Med port, which began operations in 2004. Notably the construction of this new gigantic port confirms Morocco’s commitment to strengthening its anchorage in the African space.

AfDB’s Director General, North Africa Regional Development and Business Delivery Office, Mohamed El Azizi said the construction of this new deep-water port infrastructure at the crossroads of major container and hydrocarbon transport routes consolidates the presence of the Kingdom of Morocco in the world’s sea lanes.

“It will enhance the attractiveness of Morocco’s Oriental region and be a major accelerator for development and regional integration”, he said.

Similarly, the Bank’s Country Manager for Morocco, Achraf Hassan Tarsim noted that the Nador West Med shows how state of the art infrastructure, designed in harmony with its environment and territory, can transform an entire region, opening it up to the world through development of new industrial sectors and the creation of thousands of jobs.

The AfDB has been active in Morocco for over 50 years, during which it has provided funding for projects in the country’s health, water, agriculture, transport, energy, human development and financial sectors.