Morocco building new export zone

Tangiers, April 1 (IANS/WAM) Morocco has launched the construction work of a new export zone at a major port in the North African country's northern region as a possible springboard into the European market.

King Mohammed VI dedicated Saturday the intermodal business centre of the Tangier-Med port compound and launched the construction work for the development of a new export zone, reported the Maghreb Arab Press (MAP).

These major projects, worth 1.1 billion Moroccan dirhams (around $135 million), are part of a comprehensive and integrated development plan for the northern region. As part of the plan, infrastructure of the Grand Tangiers-Med port compound, comprising Port Tangiers Med I, Port Tangiers Med II, passenger port, logistics free zone, and industrial and services free zones, will be completed.

The plan is to make the Tangiers-Med port a high-profile port with industrial and logistical platform with ideal connectivity which would help it consolidate the Moroccan economy's international competitiveness.

Located at the heart of the Tangiers-Med port compound, the new intermodal business centre (800 million Moroccan dirhams) features a ferry terminal with a border check point, a pre-embarking waiting room, coffee shops, an arrival hall for passengers, shuttle services from and to boarding platforms and other services.

The Tangiers-Med Port Center also includes a railway station with two passenger docks, a coach station, an auditorium of 288 seats, a centre with restaurants, banks, a pharmacy and shops and offices which would host maritime companies, insurance companies and sailing companies.

The port, conceived with innovative architecture and high-tech facilities, combines several architectural styles reflecting the site's physical and ecological environment.

The freight traffic access and customs procedures zone will process around 2,100 freight units a day with waiting time not exceeding two hours. The nominal handling capacity will increase to 750,000 units annually.

The export access and control zone will be operational in October 2015.