APM Terminals has been awarded as the operator of a new container transshipment terminal at the Tangier Med 2 port complex, in Morroco.

The new APM Terminals MedPort Tangier will have annual capacity of five million TEUs. Total investment in the new terminal is expected to be €758 million (US$856 million). APM Terminals already operates the APM Terminals Tangier facility at Tangier Med 1 port, which started operations in July of 2007 and handled 1.7 million TEUs in 2015

The new terminal is scheduled to open in 2019, under the terms of a 30-year concession agreement with the Tangier Med Special Agency (TMSA), which has responsibility for the development and management of the Tangier Med port complex. The new APM Terminals MedPort Tangier terminal will increase the port’s total annual throughput capacity to over 9 million TEUs.

APM Terminals MedPort Tangier will have up to 2,000 meters of quay length and will feature the technology pioneered at the APM Terminals Maasvlakte II Rotterdam terminal which opened in 2015.

The Tanger-Med port complex is strategically located on Africa’s northwest coast near the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea on the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea meet. Tanger-Med is the second-busiest container port on the African continent after Port Said, Egypt.

For APM Terminals the Western Mediterranean is an important market. APM Terminals Algeciras, on the Spanish side of the Strait of Gibraltar, operates in tandem with APM Terminals Tangier as an integrated Western Mediterranean transshipment hub. APM Terminals Algeciras handled more than 3.5 million TEUs in 2015, and has completed a major upgrading of its cranes and quay infrastructure to accommodate Ultra-Large Container Ships (ULCS) of 18,000 TEU capacity and above.

Kim Fejfer, APM Terminals CEO, said:

“APM Terminals has been in Morocco since the creation of our first company APM Terminals Tangier in March 2005 in partnership with AKWA Group and the start of port operations in July 2007. Today’s announcement shows our strong commitment to investing in trade and improving supply chains in the West Med market. Morocco and its port arm, TMSA, have been very supportive of APM Terminal’s vision for the West Med. APM Terminals MedPort Tangier will bring important innovation and future capacity into the West Med market on one of the world’s most strategic seaways – the Strait of Gibraltar.”