CMA CGM has inked a joint venture agreement with Marsa Maroc, a port terminal management company, to equip and operate a container yard at the Nador West Med terminal.
This joint venture will equip and operate 50 per cent of the Nador West Med container terminal, which includes 35 hectares of container yard and 750 metres of quay with a maximum draft of 18 metres.
CMA CGM and Marsa Maroc will own 49 per cent and 51 per cent, respectively.
The French shipping company, which is already active in Morocco at the Eurogate Tangiers and Casablanca container ports (via SOMAPORT), is expanding its position as a significant participant in the country’s supply chain through this strategic and operational partnership.
The two companies will make investments totalling $280 million under a 25-year sub-concession to generate an annual terminal production of 1.2 million TEUs.
The terminal can handle large containerships with a maximum draft of 18 metres and it will eventually include eight transshipment cranes, up from six now, and 24 electric RTGs, up from 15.
The Port of Nador West Med is positioned in the Gibraltar zone, in the Bay of Betoya on the Oued Kert estuary, and has assets that complement CMA CGM’s terminals in the Western Mediterranean zone.
Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the CMA CGM Group, said: “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.”
Recently, CMA CGM and SUEZ signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on new decarbonisation efforts in maritime.
