Morocco builds Nador 2026 and Dakhla 2028 deepwater ports

Morocco plans to open a new deepwater port on the Mediterranean this year and another on the Atlantic in 2028.

Morocco builds Nador 2026 and Dakhla 2028 deepwater ports

According to Reuters, Morocco aims to replicate Tanger Med’s success with the new port.

The Nador West Med port, currently under construction on the Mediterranean, is scheduled to begin operations in the second half of 2026.

Equipment and Water Minister, Nizar Baraka, noted that the site will initially offer 800 hectares for industrial activity, with plans to expand to 5,000 hectares, surpassing Tanger Med’s industrial zones.

The port will also host Morocco’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal, a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) connected by pipeline to industrial hubs in the northwest.

Further south, Morocco is building a $1 billion port in Dakhla, in the disputed Western Sahara region.

The facility will include 1,600 hectares for industrial activity and 5,200 hectares for farmland irrigated with desalinated water.

Scheduled for completion in 2028, Dakhla will be Morocco’s deepest port at 23 metres, designed to support heavy industries processing raw materials from Sahel countries.

Officials have promoted Dakhla as a gateway for landlocked Sahel nations to access global markets.

Both Nador and Dakhla ports will feature quays dedicated to exporting green hydrogen once production begins.

These will be Morocco’s third and fourth deepwater ports, after Tanger Med and Jorf Lasfar, an Atlantic port handling energy, bulk cargo, and phosphate exports.

By 2024, Tanger Med’s industrial zones hosted 1,400 firms employing 130,000 people across sectors including automotive, aeronautics, textiles, agri-food, and renewable energy.

Morocco is also considering a new port at Tan-Tan on the Atlantic in partnership with green hydrogen investors, Baraka said, with feasibility studies ongoing to determine the appropriate size.

In November 2025, Samskip launched a new shortsea service linking Agadir and Casablanca directly with the UK and the Netherlands, a development expected to reshape trade flows between Morocco and Europe.