Morocco’s Tanger Med Outshines Asian Giants in Global Port Efficiency

With a score of 135.8 points, Tanger Med ranks fifth in the global ranking of port performance (CPPI). The Moroccan port outperforms several Asian giants, including Guangzhou (130.2), Ningbo (127.9) and Tanjung Pelepas in Malaysia (118.3). It just trails behind Dalian in China (136.5 points) and ahead of Mawan, also in China (133 points). This result, published in the annual report of the World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence, reflects the steady progress made to place Tanger Med among the most efficient port infrastructures in the world. The Moroccan port is already recognized for its handled volumes (8.6 million TEUs in 2023 for an annual capacity of around 9 million).

Yangshan (China) tops the top 5 with 146.3 points. It is followed by Fuzhou (139.2). Port Said in Egypt (137.4) takes third place, while Dalian takes fourth place (136.5). "The top 20 ports with the highest CPPI scores in 2024 are presented in a table that highlights their significantly higher than average vessel turnaround times," the report explains. The study emphasizes that "the highest-ranked ports are, for the most part, leading export and transshipment hubs."

Casablanca, the second largest container port in the kingdom, is not better off in the ranking. With a score of only 39.8 points, the port of Casablanca ranks 329th in the world. "Casablanca recorded only 253 ship calls in 2023," when Tanger Med welcomed more than 3,000, the report states. This finding is explained by the centralization of containerized flows in Morocco. Another finding: "The global panel consists of 405 container ports" and only Tanger Med and Casablanca are included for the kingdom, the CPPI notes. The other Moroccan terminals, such as Agadir, Jorf Lasfar or Nador, specialized in more limited or targeted traffic (agricultural products, phosphates, energy), are all absent from the global top.