Morocco’s National Ports Agency (ANP) has cancelled the competition to select a private operator for its new Casablanca shipyard, ending an 18-month process for a 30-year concession, Médias24 reported on September 30.
The board adopted a new strategic direction linked particularly to national sovereignty, according to sources familiar with the matter quoted by the publication. The three remaining bidders were notified by letter.
“This cancellation has nothing to do with the candidates or their bids,” the sources said.
The sources linked the decision to developing Morocco’s domestic maritime and industrial sector and King Mohammed VI’s November 6, 2023 call to consider establishing a strong, competitive national merchant fleet.
The shipyard represents an investment of about MAD2.6 billion ($260 million) and is not yet operational. The cancellation concerns the concession process.
The ANP launched the competition in April 2025, seeking an operator to oversee the yard’s development and equipment, as well as its operation and upkeep. Individual bidders or the companies leading consortia had to have operated comparable facilities for at least 10 years.
The final bidders were a consortium of Somagec, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Kuzey Star Shipyard; a consortium of Radi Holding, Marina Meridional and Ningbo Xinle Shipbuilding Group; and San Giorgio del Porto.
The consortia offered fees of two to 2.5 per cent and four per cent of annual turnover respectively, while San Giorgio del Porto offered one per cent.
Construction began in 2015 as part of Casablanca port’s redevelopment. An earlier concession process launched in 2019 ended without an award. Naval Group withdrew from negotiations with the ANP in April 2023.
The facility comprises a 244-metre by 40-metre dry dock, a 9,000-tonne ship-lifting platform measuring 150 metres by 28 metres, a 62-metre by 13-metre basin with 450-tonne lifting capacity, 820 metres of fitting-out quays and 21 hectares of operational land.