Morocco is expected to open new terminals at Tanger Med, extending its volume and allowing it to become the Mediterranean's largest port in terms container capacity. Moroccan cargo port Tanger Med to become the Mediterranean's largest facility in terms of container capacity, thanks to new terminals, Reuters reported. The new project will allow the port to triple its container capacity, surpassing the one of the region's largest ports Algeciras and Valencia. Tanger Med is expected to add six million in capacity, the port director Rachid Houari told the British news agency. The € 1.3 billion extension will allow the port to «reach volumes of 4.5 million TEU by this year's end like Algeciras in southern Spain», the same source explained. Increasing the port's volume «I hope we will add one million TEU of containers every year», Houari told Reuters. He refused to give further estimates on the port's future volumes, stressing that «the original terminal had reached 3.5 million TEU in just six years». «Fingers crossed we will fill it up in six years», he added. Talking business, the official indicated that almost 90% of containers that pass through the port are transited to other countries. West Africa has 40% of the share, while Europe and the Americans have 20% and 10% respectively. In 2018, Morocco's global logistics gateway Tanger Med was ranked 1st in Africa as the leading container port by the «World Top Container Port». The ranking published by the «Container Management» magazine, ranked the Tangier's facility 45th in the world, allowing the port to better its last year performance by six additional places. At the time, Tanger Med had a handling capacity of 3 million TFU containers, positioned ahead of Egypt's Port Said (52nd), and South Africa's Durban (65th). In 2017, the Moroccan port handled 3,312,409 TEU containers, which represents 11% more than its nominal capacity, said the same communiqué. For the record, in July 2002, King Mohammed VI announced the establishment of the port located on the Strait of Gibraltar. The sovereign inaugurated the Tanger Med six years later. The Tanger Med project is the largest in Africa. It is part of Morocco's economic policy, based on eight clearly identified export sectors.
