Morocco earlier this month approved 12.4 billion dirhams (approximately $1.35 billion at current exchange rates) for the construction of a new deepwater “mega” port in the disputed Western Sahara region, according to a Bloomberg report, citing Casablanca-based Economie & Entreprises.
The release of the funds by Morocco’s former Prime Minister Saad Eddine El Othmani shortly before the end of his government mandate allows construction to start on the new “Dakhla-Atlantic” port, which will be located in Ntireft, a small city approximately 40 km north of Dakhla.
Two local companies, SGTM and Somagec Sud, were short-listed in May to build the port, and construction is expected to take six years to complete.
The Dakhla-Atlantic port is seen as “a strategic project” for the development of the southern provinces of the Moroccan Kingdom. According to local media, the port will be used for both international commerce and fishing activities. In addition to being a positive development for the Moroccan economy, Dakhla-Atlantic will help support the West African region by encouraging domestic and regional trade.
Local media reported that in its first year of operation, Dakhla-Atlantic could facilitate trade in over 2.2 million mt in goods, with over 950,000 mt in seafood trade alone.
The new port will be located some 550 km south of the Atlantic port of Laâyoune, through which OCP’s Phosboucraâ subsidiary exports phosphate rock. OCP is investing in new phosphate rock processing and export handling facilities at its mining operation in the Laâyoune region.
In addition to targeting increased phosphate rock exports from Boucraâ, OCP has spoken of plans to build a 1 million mt/y fertilizer complex at Al-Marsa near the Laâyoune port, with a focus on exports across Africa (GM Feb. 12, 2016). The current status of this project is unclear, however.