MEDI1TV Afrique : Décryptage de l'activité portuaire au Maroc avec Badr Zaher Al Azrak - 08/01/2025
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00:00Ladies and gentlemen, good morning and welcome to Mediain TV.
00:11Optimize the competitiveness of the logistics chain, guarantee the safety of strategic supplies,
00:18support economic changes and seize geostrategic opportunities.
00:22These are the axes around which the national strategy of the ports of Morocco is articulated.
00:28It is a strategy based on an integrated approach of port management.
00:33It bears fruit.
00:35The port of Tangier-Maide ranks third in the world ranking of port performances in 2024.
00:42It consolidates its position as a logistic hub of reference in Africa and the Mediterranean.
00:48It supports the national port strategy.
00:51We will talk about it with you.
00:53Today, Mr. Badr Zahir, you are a specialist in port law.
00:57It is a pleasure to have you here.
00:58It is a pleasure to be here. Thank you.
01:00So, a few figures to start with.
01:01World maritime transport accounts for 80%.
01:0598% of foreign trade from the Kingdom passes through the ports.
01:12What is the position of Morocco in relation to the world today?
01:15According to the figures, our destiny is port-related by the force of geography as well.
01:20Today, Morocco has seized the opportunity to develop its port sector.
01:24I think this is the question that has always been worrying for Morocco,
01:29especially after independence,
01:30because we did not really value the geostrategic positioning of the Kingdom
01:35through the port sector, which has caused a lot of losses
01:39and created a lot of pressure on the Moroccan economy,
01:41which was suffering from a certain dependence on the agricultural sector,
01:46on phosphates, on the export of phosphates.
01:48So, we were always linked to the international market
01:55and we were also always linked to climate allies.
01:58So, to make a certain transition and create a certain stabilization
02:02at the level of the Moroccan economy and move towards industrialization,
02:05towards the automotive sector, aviation, towards cutting-edge technology
02:10and also to meet the energy needs of Morocco,
02:17while making this transition towards renewable energies.
02:20So, we had to go through a certain revalorization of the port sector,
02:25that is to say, where it crosses more than 98% of the Moroccan trade.
02:31So, the beginning was from the end of the 90s,
02:36it was through liberalization.
02:38It was the problem for us in Morocco, it was the question of management
02:42and also of exploitation.
02:43Before, there was the ODEP, there were certain public structures
02:46that were responsible for managing this sector.
02:50And unfortunately, it is what really impacted the productivity of this sector
02:54and what weakened the port sector and consequently weakened the Moroccan economy.
03:00So, from the end of the 90s, what did we say?
03:03We are going to change this data, we are going to opt for a new generation of ports.
03:09This is the reason why we created the first autonomous port in Morocco,
03:11which is Angemède, today ranked among the top three
03:15in terms of performance for logistics ports.
03:19So, it is a national strategy that works, that bears fruit.
03:22What explains these figures and this positioning of Morocco?
03:25What can we do even better and more, of course?
03:28Of course, because today we are working according to the port strategy
03:32that created six port ports today.
03:35Yes, the 2030 strategy, we will talk about it later.
03:38So, what have we done today?
03:40The result and the success that we have already achieved today
03:45through this ranking, last year it was the sixth rank
03:48and today we are talking about the third rank,
03:49it is the secret, it is the modes of management and exploitation of the port sector.
03:54In particular for the port of Tangemède, Tangemède is an autonomous port.
03:57There is a public structure that is managed by the agency alone,
04:01but the exploitation is carried out by private operators,
04:04notably the maritime giant MERSC through its subsidiary APM Terminal.
04:09There is also the maritime giant CMACGM through its subsidiary Loroguet.
04:13There is also Marcin Maroc present there.
04:15So, Marcin Maroc is a Moroccan maintenance company
04:18whose capital is mostly held by the state.
04:21So, it is this performance in terms of management, in terms of exploitation
04:25that explains this performance today.
04:28And today, what we are looking for is to generalize the Tangeroy model
04:31on the rest of the Moroccan port sector,
04:33that is to say, to create Tangemède-Bis ports.
04:36First, in Nador. Nador-Ouest-Méditerranée is under construction
04:39and it is a port that will be specialized in transbordement of hydrocarbons
04:43because today, the port of Tangemède is specialized only in transbordement of containers.
04:48It is a fourth-generation port complex,
04:50but in addition, we are talking about a certain specialization in the field of rollers,
04:54that is to say, the export of automobiles and cars.
04:58So, it is what you were saying earlier,
04:59six poles that have been created,
05:01each of which has a vocation,
05:05so if today we are talking about Tangemède,
05:07it is specialized in transbordement of containers and rollers.
05:11Nador-Ouest-Méditerranée will be specialized in hydrocarbons,
05:14which will give Morocco a certain autonomy in terms of reserves of hydrocarbons
05:18at the port of Nador-Ouest-Méditerranée,
05:21and will also give the ability to re-export.
05:24Because what we are going to do at the port of Nador-Ouest-Méditerranée
05:28is that we are going to import natural gas, GNL,
05:33so we are going to store it here in Morocco.
05:37We will have a huge storage capacity that exceeds six months.
05:40We will also have the ability to re-export through the gasoline
05:44that links Morocco with Spain and Europe.
05:46So, we will first realize a certain autonomy
05:53in terms of reserves of natural gas and hydrocarbons.
05:56In addition, we will be an exporter,
05:59so we will reap the fruits of this transbordement,
06:03import and re-export operation.
06:05The same thing, we will try to do it with the port of Dakhla-Atlantique.
06:10Today, it is Dakhla-Atlantique,
06:12so it is a port that will be like the port of Tangemède
06:14in terms of exploitation management,
06:16but it will also be a transbordement port,
06:19that is to say, it will be connected to the container
06:21and directly with Latin America, with West Africa.
06:25So, we will always try to reproduce the success of Tangemède,
06:29but this time, oriented to the south.
06:31What are the challenges today, geostrategically speaking?
06:35Of course, today, for Morocco,
06:37for Morocco today, it is first of all to position itself
06:40at the level of value chains,
06:42industrial and commercial value chains.
06:44And this positioning will be, of course,
06:46through the port sector,
06:48a network for which today,
06:50we pay special attention to the development of the port sector.
06:54We are not going to focus only,
06:56limit ourselves only to Tangemède,
06:58we are going to expand, because today,
07:00we are not only talking about Tangemède,
07:02which was built in the early 2000s,
07:04but today, we are talking about Terminal 1,
07:06Terminal 2, Terminal 3.
07:08So, we are really talking about a port giant,
07:10a port complex,
07:12which also includes industrial areas,
07:14notably the automotive industry, services and others.
07:17Today, we are going to try to create
07:19another port dedicated to hydrocarbons,
07:21another port in the south of Morocco
07:23dedicated to container transportation.
07:25That's it, we are going to position ourselves
07:27at the level of value chains,
07:29notably in relation to the mechanical industry,
07:31the automotive industry.
07:33Because today, if the French are well settled
07:35right next to Tangemède,
07:39today, we invite the Chinese to settle in Dakhla.
07:42That is to say, and also today,
07:44what do we hope for?
07:46We hope for all the work we have already done
07:48to integrate the value chains of industries
07:50linked to the new generation of cars,
07:52electric cars, batteries.
07:54So, that's it,
07:56that's the reason why our effective tool
07:58is always the port sector.
08:00And there is also this diversification
08:02of supply and demand.
08:04Because it is the port
08:06that has given us this opportunity
08:08to diversify our economy.
08:10And our partners.
08:12Our partners.
08:14This has also accelerated the transition
08:16towards an economy
08:18articulated on the industry.
08:20Because until the 2000s,
08:22there really was a dependence
08:24on the agricultural sector
08:26and on phosphate exports
08:28that really impacted and unbalanced
08:30the Moroccan economy.
08:32So what did we do?
08:34Through the Portuguese tool,
08:36we convinced several partners
08:38to come and settle here in Morocco.
08:40Giants, multinationals,
08:42to position themselves on the road
08:44to strengthen the strategic partnership
08:46between Morocco and China.
08:48So, the port sector today
08:50is a locomotive that pulls behind it
08:52the entire Moroccan economy.
08:54Whether it is the automotive industry,
08:56whether it is renewable energy,
08:58whether it is the aviation industry
09:00and also the naval industry.
09:02Because recently, His Majesty the King
09:04insisted on the question.
09:06Today, we really have a port sector
09:08that is really effective
09:10and that positions itself
09:12in some very advanced
09:14international rankings.
09:16But we are not going to limit ourselves
09:18only to the port sector
09:20because we really have
09:22low logistics,
09:24but we do not have a commercial fleet
09:26that can minimize
09:28export costs
09:30and that can attract other investors
09:32to come and settle in Morocco.
09:34So, to complete the offer,
09:36it also makes the destination of Morocco
09:38very competitive
09:40compared to our competitors.
09:42So, we are going to invest more and more
09:44in the naval industry.
09:46And of course, the naval industry
09:48is also part of the port complex.
09:50So, we will always try to expand
09:52the offer of port services
09:54and the industrial port offer
09:56so that it also covers the naval industry.
09:58So, in 10 years, Morocco
10:00will also be among the major manufacturers
10:02of ships at the continental level,
10:04but why not at the international level?
10:06Since you are talking about competitiveness,
10:08in terms of volume,
10:10today we have a theoretical capacity
10:12that is around 200 million tonnes.
10:14What would be the objectives
10:16for the years to come?
10:18What is the necessary capacity
10:20compared to the requirements
10:22of the world naval trade?
10:24The capacity is always at par
10:26with the economic transition
10:28in Morocco, which aims
10:30to expand the field
10:32of Moroccan investment
10:34in economic and industrial sectors.
10:36According to the latest investment chart,
10:38the new investment chart,
10:40today Morocco does not want to limit itself
10:42only to the mechanical industry,
10:44but always, why not,
10:46to expand the field
10:48towards the defense industry,
10:50towards the pharmaceutical industry,
10:52towards other industries
10:54encompassing renewable energy,
10:56hydrogen, etc.
10:58And so, the ports must always
11:00support this ambition
11:02through the new investment chart.
11:04For Morocco,
11:06an almost insular country,
11:08we rely a lot
11:10on our port sectors.
11:12Above all, we have
11:14the whole of the frontal space
11:16almost closed,
11:18be it between Morocco and Algeria,
11:20but also between Morocco
11:22and Mauritania.
11:24This is why today we are looking
11:26for other alternatives,
11:28to expand the port offer,
11:30to try to strengthen
11:32the commercial and maritime
11:34links between Morocco
11:36and its African partners.
11:38We have seen
11:40that today we have launched
11:42a line that will directly link
11:44the port of Agadir
11:46with the port of Dakar,
11:48to overcome certain issues
11:50related to transport security,
11:52with the difficulties encountered
11:54by certain truck drivers,
11:56and also to save time.
11:58Thank you, Badr Zahir.
12:00I remind you that you are a specialist
12:02in port law.
12:04It is a pleasure to have you with us.
12:06Thank you for all these details.
12:10This is the end of Focus Eco for today.
12:12We will meet again tomorrow
12:14with a new guest and a new topic.
12:16Have a good day.