Nizar Baraka: “The port of Nador West Med is ready, with operations set to begin by end-2026.”

On Monday, November 10th, the Minister of Equipment and Water presented his department’s 2026 budget plan to Parliament.

On this occasion, Nizar Baraka reported progress on key structuring and strategic projects, notably the Nador West Med port, which has been completed and is set to begin operations by the end of 2026.

Agreements have been signed with major companies to ensure 3 million containers per years

"The Nador West Med port is ready," announced the minister, stressing that "operation are set to begin by the end of 2026", during the infrastructure commission meeting.

"To this end, we have signed agreements with major companies, notably CMA CGM [a global container shipping company, editor's note], to secure 3 million containers per year."

Read also: Marsa Maroc and CMA CGM join forces to operate the west container terminal of the Nador West Med port

And he added: "We believe that this port should not only benefit the areas of Driouch and Nador. All regions should benefit from it."

"In this context, we have started by first establishing a connection with Fes. We will build a highway between Guercif and Nador. In addition to that, there are all the roads leading to Taourirt, Guercif, Al Hoceima, Oujda, and Saidia via Route 16. And for this connection to be effective, it is necessary to either widen or strengthen these roads"

"The main point is that, in all these provinces, there will be industrial zones that can benefit from the Nador port."

"We also want to establish a connection with Fes-Meknes so that this port also benefits this region, as the time to reach Fes [from this port, editor's note] does not exceed two hours," he concluded on this matter.

It is worth mentioning that the Nador West Med port is intended to serve both as a transit and transshipment hub for containers. It was designed by the government, building on the development and governance model proven through the successful Tanger Med project.

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