Morocco’s New Casablanca Shipyard Is Built, but Its Future Is Unclear
The infrastructure for the new shipyard in Casablanca is complete, but operations have yet to begin. After several delays, the process to select a concessionaire for a 30-year term has reportedly been cancelled. Morocco is reviewing how to manage this strategic facility.
The site has considerable capacity: 21 hectares, a 244-metre-by-40-metre dry dock and a platform capable of hauling 9,000-tonne vessels out of the water. Billed as Africa’s largest shipyard, it is intended to handle repair and maintenance work for commercial, military and fishing fleets.
It is the award of the operating contract that is dragging on. In its October 4 article, Okdiario reported that a decision initially expected on August 5 had been postponed to December 31. But the situation has since changed: the tender has reportedly been cancelled after nearly eighteen months of reviewing the bids.
Three bids were still in the running. The Somagec consortium brought together South Korea’s HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Turkey’s Kuzey Star Shipyard. Radi Holding had partnered with Spain’s Marina Meridional and China’s Ningbo Xinle Shipbuilding Group. Italy’s San Giorgio del Porto was the third bidder. None was selected.
Morocco rethinks the operating model
The cancellation follows new strategic guidelines from the board of the National Ports Agency. It is reportedly linked to considerations of sovereignty and the desire to develop a national shipbuilding industry, rather than the quality of the bids.
The issue had already been raised on September 20 by La Voz de Galicia. The Spanish daily said Moroccan authorities were considering what role the shipyard should play: a facility entrusted to an external operator, or one around which to build the national industry.
The decision will shape several decades of activity. The planned concession was to cover the site’s development, equipment, operation and maintenance. Beyond servicing Moroccan vessels, Casablanca aims to attract some of the ships usually repaired at southern European shipyards, which are facing capacity constraints.
On Bladi.net : Casablanca Shipyard: HD Hyundai Targets Africa’s Maritime Future
For shipowners, the benefit would be a new repair facility on the Atlantic coast, close to shipping routes between Europe and Africa. For Morocco, the shipyard would make it possible to carry out more work locally on its own fleets.
These activities are now waiting for a new operating framework. Following the abandonment of the concession process, no replacement model has yet been announced.
