On the southern shore of the Strait of Gibraltar, the first phase of Morocco’s new megaport, Tangier Mediterranean, is already in operation.

A container terminal run by global liner giant AP Moller – better known through its shipping subsidiary Maersk – is already handling cargo there.
The company’s familiar sky-blue gantry cranes have for years dominated the skyline in Algeciras, where it operates a dedicated terminal handling over 3m containers a year. Now they are evident on the Moroccan side of the Strait too.
At this Moroccan terminal, Maersk and its partner companies transfer cargo between small ships serving African markets to larger vessels heading to Europe and the US.
It is an operation that mirrors the one in Algeciras. In the coming years, it will turn Tangier into a major hub for freight.
Morocco has already awarded a tender for a second container terminal at the Tangier Mediterranean site. It will be run by some of Maersk’s main rivals.
Earlier this year Morocco also announced plans for a second port, Tangier Mediterranean 2, where a further two box terminals will be built by 2012.
Mohammed Margaoui, the kingdom’s Transport Secretary, said last month that by 2015, ports on either side of the Strait could be handling as many as 19m containers a year.
Morocco’s vision, one that is shared by Spain too, is to turn the Strait into a major platform for global trade.
Already work is underway in the port’s immediate hinterland to build road and rail links that will serve free trade zones and logistics zones, and link the entire project to the deeper hinterland beyond.
Some European manufacturers have already announced plans to relocate to Morocco to cash in on cheaper labour and user-friendly fiscal regimes.
Companies such as Spain’s Acciona Trasmediterranea are positioning themselves for a forecast rise in cross-Strait freight traffic as a result.
This month, the Spanish company will launch a daily rail service from Algeciras to southern France, bolstered by increased ferry links from Tangier. The service aims to tap volumes of perishable cargo moving north into Europe.
All across the southern shore of the Strait there is evidence of major investment, both in industrial infrastructure and in leisure facilities.
The road from Ceuta to Tetouan through M’Diq resembles more the Costa del Sol than the traditional image of northern Morocco, historically one of the country’s poorest regions.
The pace of change is frenzied, the transformation remarkable.
By next year, the first of nine ferry berths will be operational in the new Tangier port, as will a terminal to handle liquid bulk cargoes such as fuel oil.
There are plans to start bunkering operations from the port, which will increase competition between ports on the Strait but should also serve to attract more ships to the region, which will ultimately benefit everyone.
In the next two to three years, all the traffic currently handled by the existing port of Tangier will be shifted to the new site, freeing up the old facilities for development as a cruise and yachting destination.