Morocco will start operating its second Mediterranean deepwater port, Nador West Med, in the fourth quarter of this year as it seeks to replicate the success of Tanger Med, the Mediterranean and Africa's largest port, the royal palace said on Wednesday.
The $5.6 billion facility will open with an annual capacity of five million containers, expandable to 12 million, the palace said after a meeting chaired by King Mohammed VI.
The new facility includes 5.4 kilometres of breakwaters, four km of quays and four power stations, it said.
It was designed to host Morocco's first liquefied natural gas terminal, with an annual capacity of five billion cubic metres, along with a hydrocarbons terminal.
The project also provides 700 hectares for industrial and logistics activity, which has already attracted 20 billion dirhams in private investment, it said.
(Reporting by Ahmed Eljechtimi; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
