Morocco’s Merchant Navy Fleet Expansion Plan Faces Delays

This study is part of the guidelines outlined by King Mohammed VI in his speech on the Green March. The Sovereign had stressed the need to build a strong and competitive national commercial maritime fleet. The Boston Consulting Group consulting firm presented a progress report on the study on Thursday, during a meeting held in Rabat, in the presence of the ministers concerned. The latter made observations following the presentation of the firm in order to ensure the success of the study, according to a press release from the Ministry of Transport and Logistics.

At the end of this session, the Minister of Transport and Logistics, Abdessamad Kayouh, asked the firm to broaden the consultations to all the ministerial departments concerned so that their observations are taken into account. To develop a merchant navy, Morocco must "offer investors who want to enter this sector better conditions than those offered by other countries, in terms of taxation, financing, insurance, etc.," explained the former Minister of Transport and Logistics, Mohamed Abdeljalil, guest of Le360.

"As this is a complex subject, thanks to the study, we will be able to identify niches and go ourselves to arouse the interest of the private sector so that it develops in these niches, with possible support from the State or within the framework of the Investment Charter," he continued, stressing the growing interest of Emirati investors in this project. "We talked about it during the King’s visit to Abu Dhabi. Indeed, there are a number of companies that see an opportunity to develop a fleet in Morocco," he said.