Special Economic Zones in the OIC Region:
Learning from Experience
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The Tanger Med port complex currently consists of:
1. Tanger Med Port 1: includes two container terminals, a railway terminal,
hydrocarbons terminal, bulk goods terminal, and vehicle terminal;
2. Tanger Med Port 2 : is currently under construction but when complete will include
two container terminals;
3. Tanger Med Passengers Port: includes the access zones and border inspections, the 8
berths of boarding passengers and trucks, regulations zones, and the ferry terminal;
4. Medhub Logistics Free Zone: includes 50 hectares of land surface as well as last
generation warehouses and offices for rent; and
5. Tangier Med Port Center – TMPC: 30,000m² of offices, banks, food court, multi service
spaces. These are all connected to the train, bus and maritime station.
Container Terminal
The first container Terminal (TC1) started operations in 2007 followed by the second container
terminal (TC2) a year later with capacity to handle 2.8 million TEU. These two terminals allowed
the port of Tangier Med 1 to become a major container transhipment hub in the west of the
Mediterranean and the port now has the capacity to receive the largest container ships in the
world (400 m LOA, 18,000 TEUs). By 2014 the volume of containers had reached 3 million TEU
making it one of Africa’s largest ports and it now serves 174 ports in 74 countries worldwide,
with new connections being added frequently. It can reach France in <48h, the USA in <10 days
and China and Australia in <20 days.
Construction of Tanger Med II is now underway following investment of €825 million and once
complete will increase the capacity of the port to 9 million TEU making it Africa’s largest port.
The port operations will be run by Marsa Maroc and APM Terminals which are both currently
present within Tanger Med I.
In addition to its role as a strategic platform of container transhipment on East/West
(Asia/Europe) and North/South (Europe/Africa) routes, Tangier Med I plays an essential role
in terms of connectivity and in the promotion and development of (Import/Export) traffic in
Morocco. Tangier Med I - with its diverse infrastructure links including rail and highways – plays
a very important role in connecting the port to the hinterland and supporting the development
of trade between Morocco and the rest of the world.
The Port also contains a Railway Containers Terminal, which strengthens its offer in
infrastructure and port services. The railway terminal offers a wide network of connections to
the main cities of the Kingdom and is connected to the Dry Port in Casablanca (MITA). The
Terminal Railway continues to provide advanced logistic solutions to the maritime companies,
land carriers, freight forwarders and importers/exporters with a delivery service of containers
between the Tanger Med 1 port and the different economic centres of the Kingdom.