Morocco: Tangier Med Port Maintains Positive Turnover Despite COVID-19 Crisis

Rabat – The Tangier Med Port ended the first half of 2020 with positive economic indicators, despite the COVID-19 crisis. While the reduced passenger traffic negatively impacted the port’s activity, an increase in cargo traffic made up for the lost income.

The Tangier Med Special Agency (TMSA) published its financial report for the first half of 2020 on Monday.

According to the report, the turnover at the Tangier Med Port 1, reserved for passenger traffic, reached MAD 886 million ($97 million) at the end of June 2020. Compared to the MAD 996 million ($109 million) recorded during the same period in 2019, the port’s turnover decreased by 11%.

Meanwhile, the Tangier Med Port 2, reserved for cargo traffic, recorded a turnover of MAD 277 million ($30 million) in the first six months of 2020. The figure represents a 100% increase compared to the MAD 139 million ($15 million) recorded at the end of June 2019.

The port witnessed a 22% annual increase of container traffic in the first half of 2020 to reach its new record turnover. According to the financial report, container traffic in the port reached 2.7 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU).

In contrast, international road transport activity, carried out by trucks, reached only 160,000 units at the end of June 2020, marking an 18% annual decrease. In the second quarter of 2020, marked by a nationwide lockdown due to COVID-19, international road transport activity through the port fell by 46% compared to the second quarter of 2019.

Investments and partnerships to face COVID-19

Overall, the Tangier Med Port was able to resist the COVID-19 crisis, keeping its financial indicators in the green. The relatively positive figures allowed the TMSA to continue its infrastructure investments as planned.

In the first six months of 2020, the agency invested a budget of MAD 237 million ($26 million) for infrastructure, roads, and network upgrades. During the second quarter of 2020, marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, the TMSA was able to allocate MAD 84 million ($9 million) for investments.

One of the main highlights of the Tangier Med Port in the first half of 2020 was joining an international network of major ports to guarantee the continuity of global supply chains. The network included the ports of Singapore, Rotterdam, Shanghai, Antwerp, Busan, Hamburg, and Long Beach.

The Tangier Med Port also strengthened its collaboration with the Port of Algeciras to ensure the continuity of import-export operations across the Strait of Gibraltar.