Morocco's Nador West Med Port may open ahead of schedule, with Equipment and Water Minister Nizar Baraka stating during a budget presentation that the port is fully ready. He noted that operations could begin by the end of 2026, earlier than the original 2027 target.
Government efforts are now focused on building port access roads and improving links to other regions in northern Morocco. Planned connections will link the port to major towns, including Fès, Taourirt, and Oujda.
Terminal operators are preparing for the port's launch. Morocco's Marsa Maroc and CMA Terminals, a CMA CGM subsidiary, have finalised a joint partnership for the concession of the West Terminal at Nador West Med. MSC Group, through its subsidiary Terminal Investment Limited, has also signed an agreement with Marsa Maroc for the concession of a second container terminal.
Nador West Med is modelled on the Tanger Med port system and is expected to influence transshipment dynamics in the Mediterranean. In its first phase, the port will have a handling capacity of 1.8 million TEU per year, with long-term plans to reach about 5.5 million TEU. This positions the port as a competitor to established European hubs such as Algeciras, which processed 4.7 million TEU in 2024, and Valencia, which handled 5.5 million TEU in 2024.
In Spain, concerns have been raised that new Moroccan hubs such as Nador West Med could accelerate the decline of transshipment volumes in Spanish ports. Spanish industry representatives argue that strict environmental rules in Europe create competitive disadvantages for ports such as Algeciras when compared with Moroccan ports.
Spain's State Ports agency has previously called for regulatory balance, warning of a possible shift of shipping traffic toward Morocco. The Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras estimates that its port could lose almost 60 per cent of its transshipment traffic to Tanger Med under a scenario of strict environmental compliance requirements.
Source: The Maritime Executive
