CMA CGM has entered into a joint venture with a main port operator in Morocco Marsa Maroc to equip and operate a 750-meter quay and 350,000 square meters within Morocco’s Nador West Med container terminal for a 25-year term.
Through this partnership, with CMA CGM holding a 49% stake and Marsa Maroc 51%, the joint venture will manage 50% of the terminal, which includes a 350,000m² container yard and a 750-meter quay with an 18-meter draft.
Building on its existing operations at the Eurogate Tangiers and Casablanca container terminals (via SOMAPORT), CMA CGM further strengthens its role in Morocco’s logistics sector through this strategic agreement.
Over the 25-year sub-concession, the partners will invest US$280 million, aiming for an annual throughput capacity of 1.2 million TEUs.
The terminal will be capable of accommodating the world’s largest container ships with an 18-meter draft and will eventually operate with eight transshipment cranes (up from the current six) and 24 electric RTGs (an increase from 15). Located in the strategic Gibraltar area, within the Bay of Betoya near the Oued Kert estuary, Nador West Med complements CMA CGM’s Western Mediterranean network.
Leveraging Morocco’s green hydrogen production sector, Nador West Med is set to become a maritime bunkering hub for synthetic fuels in the Mediterranean, including e-methane and e-methanol, enhancing refuelling options for CMA CGM’s dual-fuel gas and methanol fleet.
“Morocco is positioning itself as a strategic logistics and port hub with strong growth potential. The partnership we are entering into with Marsa Maroc marks a key step for the CMA CGM Group, strengthening our presence through the Nador West Med container terminal. Our ambition is to support the country’s development, particularly in the forward-looking sectors of logistics and alternative energies,” stated Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and CEO of the CMA CGM Group.
