On July 30, 2000, King Mohammed VI was about to deliver his first speech from the throne as sovereign. In retrospect, this speech was one of those that defined the « M6 style ». In front of the Moroccan people, the monarch presented his new concept of authority, which redefined the way administrations operated, but also, more generally, governance at local level. The expressions used by the monarch were not widely used at the time, but over the years they came to flood all official state communications.
Mohammed VI spoke of « promoting economic development, encouraging public and private investment and a global economic take-off, with youth employment as a top priority ». The King was also keen to heal the wounds of the previous reign, and expressed his desire to compensate for the « deficit suffered by the northern and Oriental provinces in terms of basic infrastructure and social services, compared with the central and southern regions ».
To achieve this, he invited the Development Agencies of the two regions « to put in place a special and ambitious plan to ensure the emergence of the northern provinces (…) so that they can play the role we want them to play as a magnet for investment and a shining and prosperous showcase for the kingdom ».
The sovereign’s wishes will eventually be fulfilled through Tanger Med. But it wasn’t local development agencies that took the lead on this ambitious project, it was the King himself. It was he who laid the foundations for a reference project for the whole country. Here’s a look back at the highly political history of a structuring project.
In search of a site
Less ambitious than Tangier Med, and a disaster for the country’s development: the Atlantique project envisaged a terminal with a capacity of 500,000 containers, alongside which would be built a 900-hectare industrial free zone
The port project in the north of the country was not the brainchild of Mohammed VI. At the end of Hassan II’s reign, while Abderrahmane Youssoufi was Prime Minister, the project for a port not on the Mediterranean but on the Atlantic shore of the Strait was discussed. The Tangier-Atlantic project involved an investment of $350 million in the form of a BOT (Build, Operate and Transfer) contract with a 50-year concession, to be awarded to the Bouygues group.
Less ambitious than Tanger Med, and disastrous for the country’s development: the Atlantique project envisaged a terminal with a capacity of 500,000 containers, alongside which would be built a 900-hectare industrial free zone. Above all, the project did not comply with the requirements set by Mohammed VI.
« Through His Majesty’s vision, Morocco wanted to have a port with an international dimension. This port had to have the capacity to trade as much as possible with the rest of the world, so that the kingdom’s import-export business could benefit from our industrial potential. The result is that this world-class port serves as a transshipment hub, while at the same time backing on to industrial zones now covering 3,000 hectares, housing 1,300 companies and creating over 100,000 jobs », explains Rachid Houari, the current Deputy Managing Director of the Tanger Med Port Authority, who joined the venture in 2005.
Another project was finally conceived for the construction of a port in the north of the country. It called for the creation of a port on the Strait of Gibraltar, at Ksar Sghir, where Morocco and Europe are separated by just fifteen kilometers. And it was this project that was finally chosen by the King. We will never know the reasons behind the royal choice, although it should be noted that the tip of Ksar Sghir was, in the late 1990s and early 2000s, a notorious spot for drug trafficking.
A king’s word
« Tangier Med was launched during the same period as all today’s major projects: the Emergence Plan, Casa Nearshore, Rabat Technopolis, the extension of the motorway network… The country was an open-air construction site. It was the beginning of his reign, and the King was closely supervising all these structuring projects »
However, it wasn’t until 2002, almost two years after the royal speech, that the Tanger Med project was officially launched and things began to move faster. Since his enthronement, Mohammed VI has launched a series of structuring projects at breakneck speed. The files are piling up at Executive level.
« Tanger Med was launched during the same period as all today’s major projects: the Emergence Plan, Casa Nearshore, Rabat Technopolis, the extension of the motorway network (Settat-Marrakech, Marrakech-Agadir, Fès-Oujda)… The country was an open-air construction site. It was the beginning of his reign, and the King closely supervised all these structuring projects, » recalls a former official.
Mohammed VI appointed Abdelaziz Meziane Belfkih (on his right) as the man in charge, and he was right. Today, Tanger Med is a showcase for the kingdom’s potential
In the midst of a summer 2002 marked by the Leila Islet incident, Mohammed VI told Moroccans of his desire « to make Tangier and its current port one of the largest ports and one of the major seaside resorts in the Mediterranean (…) a major structuring, port, commercial and industrial complex on the shores of the Strait, to the east of Tangier« , in his speech from the throne on July 30, 2002.
In his speech, delivered from the city of the Strait, the sovereign emphasized that this infrastructure would have to be of « international » standard. Things accelerated a few weeks later. On September 10, 2002, one month before leaving office, Abderrahmane Youssoufi issued a decree-law creating the Tanger Med Special Zone and setting up the Tanger Med Special Authority (TMSA), which oversees all Tanger Med activities.
The decree gives TMSA the authority to exploit and develop a 500 km² area in the north of the country. The decision is being contested by local elected representatives, who see it as an encroachment on their authority. Showing common sense, Abderrahmane Youssoufi puts the general interest ahead of political calculations. The adventure can begin.
Exceptional regime
It’s a well-known figure from the inner circle who takes the helm at TMSA. Abdelaziz Meziane Belfkih, a former Minister of Equipment and then Royal Councillor, chairs TMSA’s Supervisory Board. At Tanger Med, the royal advisor is reproducing the recipe that made his success up to now, by using engineers.
Tozy and Hibou describe this new generation of « khadim », civil servants in the service of the King but who are « not subservient and share real convictions about the general interest, the common good and public service »
For Tanger Med is first and foremost an engineering project, piloted mainly by graduates of France’s prestigious universities. For example, the main collaborator of TMSA’s new CEO, Saïd El Hadi (current CEO of Lafarge Holcim Maroc), is, like Belfkih, a graduate of the Ecole des ponts et chaussées in Paris. But in order to take part in projects, new recruits must have the approval of the highest levels of government, or at least their closest advisors.
« More than professional specialization, it’s the title and diploma that are valued. Above all, they are chosen for the trust placed in them, or more precisely by the sovereign in his intermediary« , write political scientists Mohamed Tozy and Béatrice Hibou in their book Tisser le temps politique au Maroc.
These new civil servants in the service of the State enjoy a certain degree of autonomy. In their work, Tozy and Hibou describe this new generation of « khadim », civil servants at the service of the King but who are « not subservient and share real convictions in terms of the general interest, the common good and public service« .
It is the establishment of this system, with the skills it attracts and the influence that surrounds it, that enabled the port to emerge from the ground in record time. The project is surrounded by the exceptionality of the royal regime, with the advantages and acceleration that this allows.
But, note Tozy and Hibou, this regime also has its drawbacks. When the link with the Palace is severed, the machine can also seize up, as would be the case a few years later: « This exceptional regime has its downside (…) it is easily reversible, as demonstrated by the difficulties, after the death of Meziane Belfkih, in securing financial resources for the extension of Tangier Med II ». The construction work, which began in 2003, had its share of twists and turns.
Sink or swim
« There was great mobilization. The King wanted to see the project succeed and was putting pressure on everyone to get the port up and running as soon as possible… It was sink or swim »
« There was a great mobilization. The King wanted to see this project succeed and was putting pressure on everyone to get the port up and running as soon as possible… It was sink or swim, » recalls this former senior official involved in the project.
Above all, the engineers involved had to be flexible: the size of the Tanger Med project changed while the infrastructure was still under construction.
In 2006, Driss Jettou, then Prime Minister, learned that French carmaker Renault was considering setting up a plant in Turkey or Romania…
In 2006, Driss Jettou, then Prime Minister, learned that the French manufacturer Renault was considering setting up a plant in Turkey or Romania. For Morocco, this was a golden opportunity to attract a global manufacturer that would strengthen the Tanger Med offering while creating a genuine automotive ecosystem. A flurry of activity ensued. The head of the government jumps on a plane to Paris and reminds Carlos Ghosn that he had promised him, a few months earlier, to consider setting up a plant in Morocco.
Although the then CEO of the Renault Group prefers to bet on an extension of his Turkish plant, the Prime Minister nevertheless promises to forward a proposal as soon as possible. The Ministries of Industry, Equipment, ONEE, Customs and Tanger Med management are working with the Renault team to find solutions to its requests.
Within ten days, the Moroccan offer was ready. It met the manufacturer’s requirements point by point. A dock was made available in the port of Tangiers. 20 kilometers away, in Melloussa, 300 hectares were ready to house a factory. The government commited to link it to the port by rail. The foundations for the Renault Tanger Med plant were laid (see TelQuel no. 679).
A series of meetings between Renault teams followed, until Carlos Ghosn came to Morocco to meet Mohammed VI, who vouched for the project and accepted the Kingdom’s responsibility. In August 2007, in the presence of the King, a framework contract for the construction of Renault’s Tangier plant was signed.
This act, combined with the support enjoyed by Tanger Med from a number of major shipowners, virtually guaranteed the emergence of Tanger Med as a global player in the port sector. Above all, it was a real feat for the engineers involved in the project.
In 2007, the yard was finally inaugurated in the presence of Mohammed VI and Meziane Belfkih, the project’s chief supervisor
« This flexibility is important because it’s difficult to change the plans for a port at the last second, but our Moroccan engineers have been very good at adapting to the business opportunities that have arisen in Morocco. Today,this flexibility has enabled the Tanger Med port to export 500,000 cars manufactured in Morocco by the Renault plant, the Stellantis Kénitra plant and the Somaca plant in Casablanca« , says Rachid Houari.
In the summer of 2007, almost seven years after his speech on the new concept of authority, Mohammed VI inaugurated the port of Tanger Med. His gamble paid off. A year later, the sovereign set himself another challenge. In the midst of an international financial crisis, the sovereign gave instructions for the construction of an extension to the port of Tanger Med. Tanger Med II will be inaugurated in 2019 by Crown Prince Moulay El Hasssan.
An inauguration that further consolidates the project initiated by his father, while confirming its international dimension. This dimension has been achieved thanks to the work of Said El Hadi, Mohamed Hassad and Fouad Brini, who has presided over TMSA’s destiny for almost a decade now.
Acquisition: the Marsa Maroc turning point
2021 marks a turning point for the Tanger Med Group, whose sales more than doubled in one year, from MAD 3.6 billion to MAD 8.04 billion. This exceptional performance is mainly due to the acquisition of a 35% stake in Marsa Maroc, the country’s leading port terminal operator, with operations in 9 other ports in the Kingdom. And in 2021, Tanger Med’s TC3 container terminal began commercial operations, boosting the port complex’s capacity and international competitiveness. [/frame]
Written by Yassine Majdi, edited in english by S.E.
