The Cité Mohammed VI Tanger Tech is today the concrete representation of the Chinese investment boom in Morocco. The free zone, whose history began in 2016, is now home to seven Chinese companies with investments worth billions of dirhams. The same applies to the export sales of these companies, which have contributed to the creation of several thousand jobs and to the dynamism of a zone that now serves as reference in Morocco.
However, the story of this flagship project began with a false start that could have jeopardized its viability. However, the political will of Morocco and China, coupled with the determination of some of the project’s promoters, enabled the pumpkin to turn into a carriage. Here is the story of this transformation, told by some of those involved who requested anonymity.
A great start
We’re talking about the creation of 100,000 jobs, the opening of 200 factories and a total investment of 10 billion dirhams. Enough to turn heads
« Cité Mohammed VI Tanger Tech is first and foremost the story of a Moroccan-style beginning. A beginning with a lot of announcement effects », says one of the project’s players. In 2016, the project was announced with great fanfare. The creation of the Industrial Acceleration Zone was one of the 15 agreements signed by King Mohammed VI and Chinese President Xi Jinping during the King’s visit to China.
The figures announced for this project, supported by BMCE Bank of Africa, the Tanger-Tétouan-Al Hoceima (TTAH) region and the Chinese company Haite, are staggering. We’re talking about the creation of 100,000 jobs, the opening of 200 factories and a total investment of 10 billion dirhams. Enough to turn heads.
A year later, the project’s major sponsors met at the Marchane Palace in Tangier to present a model of the industrial city and a promotional video of the project to the King. On the Moroccan side, people are already dreaming of seeing a new Shanghai being built near the city of the Strait. After the presentation, confidence was high.
CEO of BMCE Bank of Africa, and an active figure in the project, Othman Benjelloun prophesied: « This is the rebirth of the Silk Road, so dear to our Chinese partners and friends. From now on, it will pass through Tangier and, from this blessed land, towards the rest of the African continent, Europe and America« .
Then Minister of Industry, Moulay Hafid Elalamy even promised a first groundbreaking for the second half of 2017. Only, things turned out to be much more difficult.
A casting error
Present at the event organized at the Royal Palace in Tangier, the chairman of the Haite Li Biao group gradually took a back seat. His absence raised questions about the Chinese company’s ability to carry out such a major project. A specialist in the aeronautics sector, Haite has never before tackled the construction of an industrial estate.
« Their aircraft maintenance plant in Chengdu was built by someone else. How could it help build 200 factories in Morocco, knowing that’s not their business? », an industry expert confided to us in 2018. The company didn’t seem to offer any convincing guarantees of longevity.
« We went to Haite’s headquarters: a building that doesn’t look like much (…) The doors opened but there was a void where we should have found an elevator shaft. It really wasn’t a good sign »
« We went to Haite’s headquarters. It’s an unremarkable building, similar to those you might see anywhere in China. When we tried to take the elevator up to the office, there were no elevators. The doors opened, but there was a gap where there should have been an elevator shaft. It really wasn’t a good sign, » says a source close to the case.
« I think that Haite’s involvement was mainly a matter of a few interested parties trying to sell Haite as the Chinese group that Morocco needs, » adds our source, who is no doubt referring to Ilyas El Omari, then President of the TTAH region, who was behind the project.
Behind the scenes, work with Haite continues. According to our information, an agreement was drawn up. A draft was sent to those in charge of the project. The document contains unrealistic conditions in terms of land acquisition and the scope for companies to set up in the zone. One of these conditions was direct access to the sea for certain companies, a completely unrealistic clause.
Haite is clearly a casting error. « When you choose a Chinese investor who wants to set up in Africa, they must have experience in the field, be able to raise the funds and, above all, be a partner with the Chinese state. None of these three basic criteria, which are important in relations with China, has been met », this specialist in Moroccan-Chinese relations told us in 2019. Haite must go. Misfortunes are piling up around the project, which is literally in danger of sinking.
Hit but not sunk
By early 2019, the Cité Mohammed VI Tanger Tech was in a state of upheaval. Haite has disappeared from the landscape. World leader in aluminum wheels, the Chinese company Di Castal, which was due to set up in the industrial zone, is now considering relocating its business. The reason? The site where Tanger Tech is located is likely to be flooded by the Oued Mrharhar. Worse still, the award of the Di Castal site comes at a time when the north of the country is suffering from flooding.
« BMCE had sent some very reasonable and intelligent people. But they didn’t have the resources or the techniques to manage a project as complex as the creation of a free zone
Protective structures were designed and built on the site. BMCE Bank of Africa sent several of its executives to speed up the work. But things were dragging on.
« BMCE had sent some very reasonable and intelligent people. But they didn’t have the resources and techniques to manage a project as complex as the creation of a free zone. The site’s flooding potential had been identified very early on. Technical solutions were available, but they were not implemented quickly. Implementation was sluggish. They spent a lot of time beating around the bush, » confides an employee of a design office involved in the project.
Faced with the looming disaster, the State stepped in. The Wali of the region at the time, Mohamed Mhidia, was one of the senior civil servants in charge of monitoring the project. The expertise of a number of Tanger Med managers is also called upon to assist in the project’s implementation. The comeback can begin.
A partner of choice
To get back on track, it is first necessary to find a new Chinese partner. Morocco is not the only country mobilizing its expertise. Beijing is also showing an interest in the success of this project. According to our information, Chinese diplomacy provided Morocco with a list of ten or so companies likely to support this initiative. It was now up to Moroccan officials to convince them to join them.
Once again, the choice was not made for a specialist in industrial zone design. But it makes sense. A well-known player in the Chinese economy, and a specialist in engineering structures, the state-owned CRBC (Chinese Road and Bridge Corporation) was chosen as partner. Its strength: a solid foundation.
« It’s a company with sales approaching a hundred billion dollars, even if it doesn’t specialize in this field (industrial estates, editor’s note). It’s a player with good relational and political skills in China« , analyzes this connoisseur of China’s industrial fabric.
Negotiations took time. They were also slowed down by the global health crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. In November 2020, an agreement was finally sealed. A legal framework was set up for the project, which is now managed by the Tanger Tech Development Company (Société d’Aménagement de Tanger Tech, SATT). Business prospecting can now begin.
Take-off
Thanks to CRBC’s participation, the Tanger Tech project is gaining in credibility. The Chinese partner strengthens the image of the industrial city and helps attract other companies from the Middle Kingdom. But this is not enough. Those in charge are aware of the need for a « coup » to reinforce the positive dynamic around the industrial zone. Delegations are sent to China to sound out the market.
Tanger Tech executives set their sights on tire manufacturer Qingdao Sentury Tyre (also known as Sentury Tyre). The manufacturer is a giant in its sector, with a market value estimated at nearly three billion dollars at the time.
A deal was sealed in early 2023, under which Sentury Tyre was granted 20 hectares to set up a plant capable of producing over 12 million tires annually. In all, the final investment was expected to be around $540 million, or almost 5 billion dirhams.
It’s a masterstroke for Tanger Tech’s management. In addition to attracting a major Chinese investor, the industrial zone has also succeeded in beating out Spain, where the tire manufacturer was planning to set up shop. On the other side of the Mediterranean, Sentury Tyre had to contend with Spanish administrative delays. In Morocco, a turnkey project was delivered in record time.
Above all, the arrival of Sentury Tyre has enabled Tanger Tech to pursue its « networking » policy. « If BTR (a Chinese manufacturer of electric batteries) decided to set up in Tanger Tech (in March 2024, through an agreement involving an investment of almost 3 billion dirhams), it was also because Sentury had a presence in the area, » confides a project manager.
Between 2023 and 2024, eleven companies decided to set up their factories in Tanger Med. These include nine Chinese companies, whose planned investments are expected to exceed one billion dollars, or almost 10 billion dirhams. Far from being the result of a combination of international circumstances, Tanger Tech’s take-off is ultimately the result of a long-term effort.
Written by Yassine Majdi. Edited in English by S.E.
