MRE, avoid Bab Sebta: it’s up to 10 hours of waiting at the border!

Motorists are thus facing waiting times ranging from five to ten hours, while pedestrian crossing takes about an hour. This congestion is mainly explained by the modernization work undertaken by the Moroccan authorities, which have reduced the traffic lanes to a single lane to manage the inbound and outbound flows.

In addition to the technical constraints, the influx is accentuated by seasonality. January corresponds to the sales period in Sebta, attracting many Moroccan families for shopping. Added to this is the return flow of Moroccans Residing Abroad (MRE) after the end-of-year holidays.

According to forecasts, these disruptions should persist over the next weekends and throughout the month. The construction work, which aims to streamline the crossing in the long term, is expected to last about six months for a full commissioning scheduled for the spring of 2026, before the "Marhaba" operation.

Faced with this saturation, calls are multiplying to direct travelers to the port of Tanger Med. With much larger logistics capacities, the port complex is presented as an effective relief solution to avoid the bottlenecks of Bab Sebta during this construction period.