 The Tanger Med and Algesiras ports will run at equal capacity in 2012 with a competitive advantage going to the Moroccan port thanks to its ideal location at the intersection of African, Asian and European fairways. This raises serious geo-strategic questions for everyone in the ring. Adama Wade, Casablanca The 42 billion dirhams in investments announced on January 7 at the royal palace in Tangiers, in the presence of King Mohammed VI and some of the Moroccan government, attracted much interest at the other end of the Strait. The heavy presence of Spanish media (TVE, the EFE agency) and various members of the Iberian press present during the ceremony testify to the significance of the event. In addition, the scuffles that continued at Algesiras Port and, to a lesser extent, at Tarifa Port, required that they share the handling and transhipment business with Tanger Med which has expansion plans that will increase its capacity to 8 million containers. Along with port development, by 2013, the Morrocan port will have an industrial zone with a single counter on a surface area of 12,355.5 acres running 49.78 miles. Officially, as the chairman of the board of directors of TMSA, the special agency in charge of administration at the port, Said Hadi explained, that these investments came in response to a “fast rise in industrial demand.” From the Spanish perspective, representatives of Parti Populaire criticise the socialists for having minimised the economic significance of the Moroccan ports increased clout in the region. Indeed, since the king launched the project in 2002, 400 companies have invested in the Tangiers free zone. Of course, to this one must also add the mega Renault-Nissan project in the Melloussa zone which will create 36,000 jobs. Already, according to statements made by the management of the French group, the deal has been finalised. According the comments made by the Moroccan Minister of Industry and Trade, the project is now certain to be realised. “The delay will depend on the choice of one or two models,” indicated an official. Apart from their ongoing battle for trade, both ports have geo-strategic arguments in the fight to control the Strait. British influence now little more than a rock, it is now up to Spain which is trying to contain the economic rehabilitation movement currently underway in northern Morocco. A dash between Europe and Africa For Morocco, which has been asserting its claims over the enclaves of Sebta and Melilla currently held by Spain, as well as a few of the many plots of land currently under dispute by both nations, this advancement solidifies the dash that binds the two continents. From the Spanish point of view the issue of expanding the port of Tanger Med that is currently being debated, is a first and foremost a cause for political concern and not one that is economic in nature – a reality demonstrated by the recent trips of a few representatives of the Parti Populaire (PP) which criticises the socialists for having minimised the economic significance of the Moroccan ports increased clout in the region. As for the port authorities of Algesiras, they have been fighting for cooperation and complementarity as they are aware that a major player like Maersk is an important part of the Spanish port which it virtually created and managed single-handedly since 1986 and is the leader (via its subsidiary AP Moeller Maersk) of a consortium which manages the first terminal. Indeed, as a Moroccan economist reminds us, Tanger Med’s comparative advantage lies more so on land than at sea thanks to the industrial zones which will attract a lot of European businesses and, as a result of this, will generate a lot of traffic at the start and towards Tangiers. “Algesiras benefited greatly from the increase in trade between Europe and Asia as well as the increased traffic on the Strait. Tanger Med will bring in dividends from the factory delocalisation movements.” He goes on to add that as “the Algesiras Port was built in a limited basin, it does not have an inexhaustible capacity for expansion. And, being European, it has little latitude to compress its overhead costs.” But these are claims that cannot be confirmed until 2009 when the Morrocan port will surpass the 1.5-million container marker as planned. Source : Les Afriques - Carouge,Geneve,Switzerland |