Background

Morocco has embarked on a series of important infrastructure initiatives designed to improve its economy, and enable it to compete successfully for world markets with other countries in the region.   Morocco is highly dependent on its ports for imports and exports.  Over 95% of all goods reach or leave Morocco by sea. 

Project Evaluation Summary & Recommendations

The purpose of this USTDA-funded project is to recommend  courses of action with respect to:

• The development of container service at the port of Jorf Lasfar,
• A new port outside the city of Safi to support a chemical processing complex owned by the Office Chérifien des Phosphates (OCP), and
• The Moroccan port sector in general.

Port of Jorf Lasfar

Our investigation showed that the Port of Jorf Lasfar appears to be ready to accommodate container traffic required to support the industrial park.  Little investment is required given the fact that 1) a project to finish an additional quay has been tendered, and 2) new cranes put in place at the end of 2000 can be used for container traffic.  An area (A4) is suitable for containers within the port. Given these facts, it is appropriate for the industrial park to claim that the Port of Jorf Lasfar is container-ready.

Recommendations

A significant issue is whether there will be sufficient traffic in the region to induce shipping lines to call at Jorf Lasfar (at least 50 containers per voyage).  Jorf Lasfar could conceivably compete with container service in Casablanca once the highway between the two cities is completed (around 2003).  We recommend that the industrial park management establish a transportation committee to bring together transportation and logistics stakeholders. This committee should include local public works officials, ODEP, shipping line, stevedoring and third party logistics companies, to inventory and discuss overall transportation, storage and logistics issues relating to the industrial park.

With respect to the United States Trade and Development Agency, our recommendation is that no further action should be undertaken by USTDA with respect to the provision of container service at the Port of Jorf Lasfar.

Port of Safi

OCP's raw and finished products must travel a distance of about 11 kilometers from the plant to the port (or vice versa), which is located in the center of town. The raw materials are transported to OCP's complex by tanker trucks. Products destined for export are forwarded to the Port of Safi by rail.

The proposed new port would be built in front of  the Safi Chemical Complex, connected to the plant by pipeline and conveyor belts like at Jorf Lasfar.  The port facility could be developed as a traditional single basin with three docks and a main protective jetty, or an off-shore facility using deep-water moorings and advanced bulk material delivery systems to the ships. 

A traditional port would likely be very expensive (possibly in excess of US$150 million) because of the main jetty and additional dredging requirements.  A detailed cost/benefit analysis may reveal that a phased approach using off-shore moorings, and a much smaller infrastructure would be more advantageous and cost- effective.

OCP is clearly motivated to develop the new port because it would reduce operating costs and risks.

Recommendation

Based on our analysis, we find that the project meets USTDA objectives for a feasibility study:

• The project offers over $40 million in potential U.S. exports,
• The project has a clear and motivated sponsor, and
• The project will provide the sponsor with significant economic and environmental benefits.

We recommend that USTDA fund a feasibility study to develop a number of alternative designs for the port, and evaluate their relative costs, benefits and financing feasibility.  This study could be followed by a technical feasibility study detailing the selected alternative.

Moroccan Port Sector

As the Moroccan port sector matures, investment activity will migrate from infrastructure and construction to operations management where the objective is to improve the productivity of existing facilities.   Indication of the maturing port sector market in Morocco is evidenced by the fact that approximately half of ODEP's planned investments are directed towards improving the existing Port of Casablanca, which handles 40% of the country's port traffic. Areas of US exports with respect to the first segment include engineering studies, civil engineering works, project management, and large gantry cranes.  The main examples of such projects are the new port of Tanger-Atlantique and the proposed port of Safi.

The Moroccan port sector clearly offers opportunities for US exports, particularly as investments migrate from infrastructure to operations management investments.   Exposure to US port technology, port management and port governance would improve exposure and standing of US firms seeking to do business in Morocco.

Recommendation

We recommend that USTDA fund an orientation visit for Moroccan port officials to the United States, with the objective of exposing delegates to the following aspects of US port management: Traditional port technology, advanced port technology such as wireless, radio-frequency and other tracking and tracing technologies, advanced port design and management concepts and port governance, including tariff regulation, the relationship between operators and port authorities, and investment funding.

In terms of future projects, we recommend that USTDA and the Foreign Commercial Service track the progress of the following opportunities for potential action:

• Tanger-Atlantique: Potential feasibility study update later in 2001 or 2002 depending on current discussions and negotiations.
• Phase II Study – Safi: Based on the results of the proposed Phase I Study of Alternatives for Safi.