2022 Global Seaport Review: Tanger Med, Morocco

Port features

The 35-hectacre (86-acre) complex has eight berths with eight-meter (26-foot) drafts. Tanger Med alone handles more than half of Moroccan exports and nearly 97% of the flow of trucks exported from Morocco.

Tanger Med includes storage spaces to warehouse goods awaiting export, extensive import container visit areas, and nearly 840,000 sq. m. of logistics space. In addition, Tanger Med has a 5,500-sq.-m. refrigeration unit dedicated to the storage, preservation, labeling, packaging and light processing of agri-food products.

The new vehicles business is divided between the Renault Vehicle Terminal and the Multiuser Vehicle Terminal. Around 430,000 new vehicles were handled across the two terminals in 2021, up 20% year-over-year. The carrier car terminal is connected to 35 ports, including Le Havre, France; Jebel Ali, Dubai; and Brisbane, Australia.

Figure 3: Port details

Source: CBRE Research, Port of Tanger Med, 2022.

Trade partners

The largest import partners are Spain, France, Italy, India and Germany. The largest export partners are Spain, China, France, Germany and the U.S.

Morocco benefits from 55 free trade agreements including EFTA (European Free Trade Association) with Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, the EU, the U.S., the United Arab Emirates and Turkey. These trade agreements provide access to almost 1 billion consumers. Morocco also has preferential arrangements with 62 countries.

Intermodal transportation

Tanger Med’s success is due, in large part, to its extensive rail and highway links. The 10-hectacre railway terminal features three 800-meter-long lanes to transport containers. One of the rail terminal’s key uses is to transport new vehicles between production plants, including Renault’s Tanger Med plant (Africa’s largest) and the Stellantis plant in Kenitra.

Maritime routes directly connect Tanger Med to more than 180 ports in 70 countries. Via ship, Tanger Med is almost three days from Rotterdam, 10 days from North and South America and 20 days from China. The port is a major logistics hub for Africa and serves as a sea bridge over the Strait to Spain, France and Italy.

Real estate influence

Morocco is growing as a global logistics distribution hub for international players aiming to optimize their export networks and regional distribution across Europe, Africa and the U.S. Tanger Med is tied to more than 20 million sq. m. of industrial space and the Tanger Free Zone, which provides fiscal incentives to firms operating within.

Tanger Med is home to more than 1,000 companies exporting more than $8.8 billion in automotive, aeronautics, logistics, textiles and general trade.

Major international operators—including DHL, DB Schenker, CEVA Logistics, Nippon Express, Emirates Logistics, Decathlon and Adidas—have a presence in the port’s logistics area to facilitate distribution to markets across Africa, Europe and the Americas.