Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has inaugurated a series of large-scale projects at the Casablanca Port Complex as part of a strategy to strengthen the city’s role as an economic and tourism hub.
The developments, worth about 5 billion dirhams ($500m), include a new fishing port, a shipyard, a cruise terminal and an administrative complex to bring together the port’s main stakeholders.
Officials say the investment is aimed at consolidating Casablanca’s position as a leading financial centre in Africa, while opening it further to international trade and tourism.
The King inaugurated the new fishing port, built at a cost of 1.2 billion dirhams. It is designed to improve safety and working conditions for the city’s fishermen and to modernise the marketing of seafood products. The facility can host more than 260 artisanal boats and around 100 coastal vessels, and is equipped with a new fish market, container units, ice production plants and facilities for shipowners and wholesalers.
He also toured a new shipyard, which represents the largest component of the programme with an investment of 2.5 billion dirhams. The project includes a 240-metre dry dock, a 9,700-tonne lifting platform and new quays and embankments spread across 21 hectares. Authorities say it will boost Morocco’s shipbuilding and repair capacity and enhance its competitiveness in the global maritime industry.
The new cruise terminal, built for 720 million dirhams, is intended to attract more international cruise ships and increase visitor numbers to Casablanca. With an annual capacity of 450,000 passengers, the terminal can accommodate vessels up to 350 metres in length and is supported by new gangways, landing stages and parking facilities.
A fourth project, a 500 million dirham administrative complex, will centralise services such as customs, port authorities and operators, which were previously scattered across different parts of the port. The government says this will improve efficiency and strengthen integration between the port and the city.
The Casablanca projects are part of a broader modernisation of Morocco’s port infrastructure, which already includes Tanger-Med, one of the largest container ports in the Mediterranean, and new developments under way at Nador West-Med and Dakhla Atlantique.
Officials say the programme reflects the King’s long-term vision to equip Morocco’s economic capital with modern infrastructure, capable of supporting both trade and tourism growth while meeting the aspirations of local residents.
