North Africa grows, Ligurian ports at the window
Activated 12.7 billion dollars of investment in the area. The most operational ports of call are Tanger Med, in Morocco, Damietta and Port Said, in Egypt
4' min read
4' min read
The ports and the logistics system of the countries on the southern shore of the Mediterranean are growing at a fast pace. In 10 years, $12.74 billion in investments have been made in the area, with the participation of private individuals, aimed at creating port infrastructure: the highest in the world between 2012 and 2022. But they had also been conspicuous in the previous decade (2002-2012), reaching $7.29 billion.
The best known projects and realisations are the Tanger Med complex, in Morocco, and those of Damietta and Port Said, in Egypt, and in those countries, as well as in Algeria and Tunisia, the sector is growing rapidly. In 2021, for example, British investment international and Dp world have launched an investment platform for the ports of Dakar (Senegal), Sokhna (Egypt) and Berbera (Somaliland), committing an initial USD 1 billion.
This expansion is underpinned by large special economic areas, which host world-class production facilities, capable of generating and attracting traffic. Moreover, following the crisis in the Red Sea, North African ports are using the change in container routes to their advantage to strengthen their position in the transhipment sector, in which they already play a key role.
These and other data were illustrated by Alessandro Panaro, head of maritime & energy department of Srm (the study centre that is part of Intesa Sanpaolo), during the initiative A bridge to Africa, organised by the Propeller club ports of La Spezia and Marina di Carrara and Clickutility team, through a public-private promoter committee made up of La Spezia logistics companies, the Municipality of La Spezia and the Port Authority of the Eastern Ligurian Sea. The aim of the initiative, which was also attended by Egyptian, Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian delegations, was to strengthen the bridge between Italy (starting, of course, with the Ligurian ports and, in particular, that of La Spezia) and North African markets, creating new synergies. The meeting is also part of the so-called Mattei Plan, the new strategic approach launched at the beginning of the year by the Italian government, which aims to consolidate economic relations between Italy and Africa.
Panaro highlighted how, from 2008 to 2023, container traffic in North Africa grew by 136%, from 7.2 million teu (unit of measurement equal to a 20-foot container) 16 years ago to 16.9 million last year. As for transhipment (i.e. the movement of containers from larger ships to feeder units), in 2023 its incidence on the total handling of Tanger Med was 93.5% (4th port in the world), for Port Said 90% (17th in the world) and for Damietta 85% (35th in the world).
