Companies join forces to equip and operate half of the Nador West Med container terminal
CMA CGM Group has signed a joint venture agreement with Moroccan port terminal management company Marsa Maroc to equip and operate for 25 years a 750-metre section of quay and 35ha of yard within the Nador West Med container terminal.
This joint venture, in which CMA CGM and Marsa Maroc will hold 49 per cent and 51 per cent respectively, will equip and operate 50 per cent of the Nador West Med container terminal, equivalent to 35ha of container yard and 750 metres of quay with a maximum draught of 18 metres.
CMA CGM is already present in Morocco in the Eurogate Tangiers and Casablanca container terminals (via Somaport). The company said it is pursuing with this strategic and operational agreement its development as a major player in the country’s supply chain.
Within the framework of a 25-year sub-concession, the CMA CGM and Marsa Maroc will make major investments totalling US$280mn, with the aim of achieving an annual terminal output of 1.2mn TEUs.
The terminal is capable of handling the world’s largest container ships with a maximum draught of 18 metres, and will eventually be equipped with 8 transshipment cranes, compared with 6 at present, and 24 electric RTGs, compared with 15 at present.
Ideally located in the strategic Gibraltar zone, in the Bay of Betoya, on the Oued Kert estuary, the port of Nador West Med has significant assets to complement the CMA CGM Group’s terminals in the strategic Western Mediterranean zone.
Thanks to Morocco’s green hydrogen production sector, Nador West Med is also destined to become a maritime bunkering hub for new synthetic energies in the Mediterranean (e-methane and e-methanol), notably for CMA CGM’s fleet of dual-fuel gas and methanol vessels.
Rodolphe Saadé, chairman and CEO of CMA CGM, 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”.
CMA CGM has been a major player in the Moroccan supply chain since 1983, connecting the country to the rest of the world. With 1,300 employees in Morocco, the company has become a leader in maritime transport and logistics, with 31 maritime services operating out of the three main Moroccan ports (Agadir, Casablanca, Tangiers Med) and serving 81 ports directly from Morocco. The Group offers its customers in Morocco end-to-end supply chain services via its subsidiary CEVA Logistics.
Through its subsidiary Terminal Link, the CMA CGM Group owns 100 per cent of a Casablanca terminal (via Somaport), as well as 40 per cent of the Eurogate Tangiers terminal.
