Morocco’s leading port operator, Marsa Maroc, has expanded capacity at the Port of Casablanca to allow the reception of vessels of up to 60,000 tons for the first time, as the North African kingdom steps up investment in trade infrastructure to reinforce its role as a regional logistics hub.
The company said the upgrade marks a “historic first” for the country’s main commercial port and forms part of a broader drive to improve efficiency, lower logistics costs and support Morocco’s growing import-export flows.
Marsa Maroc said it had commissioned 230 linear metres of quay at its multipurpose terminal, now deepened to a draft of minus 12 metres. The works allow the terminal to receive ships almost twice the size of the previous limit of 35,000 tons, significantly expanding the port’s cargo-handling capabilities.
The development is part of the company’s 2030 investment strategy, under which Marsa Maroc is seeking to modernise key port infrastructure and raise operational performance across its network. The Casablanca project is backed by an investment of 475 million Moroccan dirhams, or about US$50.35 million.
The expansion is expected to improve vessel turnaround, facilitate larger cargo movements and reduce shipping and handling costs for businesses that rely on Casablanca as one of Morocco’s most important trade gateways.
Casablanca remains central to Morocco’s industrial and commercial activity, serving as a major entry and exit point for manufactured goods, raw materials and consumer products. By enabling the port to receive larger ships, authorities are aiming to strengthen the competitiveness of Moroccan exporters and importers at a time when supply chain efficiency is increasingly critical to global trade.
The upgrade also supports the wider industrial and logistics ecosystem linked to Casablanca, including manufacturers, distributors and traders that depend on the port for access to international markets.
Marsa Maroc said the investment fits within a larger multi-year programme valued at 21 billion dirhams, or around US$2.23 billion, aimed at upgrading port capacity and performance nationwide. The broader plan is designed to support Morocco’s ambitions to consolidate its position as a strategic trade and logistics platform between Europe, Africa and the wider Atlantic basin.
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Under the Casablanca project, annual handling capacity at the terminal is expected to exceed 8 million tons by 2028. The company said work is continuing to extend the deepened quay to 530 metres by that date, which would further increase the port’s ability to receive large cargo vessels and manage higher freight volumes.
The investment comes as Morocco continues to position logistics and transport infrastructure at the heart of its industrial and export-led growth strategy. Improved port performance is seen as essential to attracting foreign investment, supporting manufacturing expansion and integrating the country more deeply into regional and global value chains.
Casablanca Port plays a particularly important role in serving Morocco’s domestic economy, while larger hub ports such as Tangier Med have increasingly handled transshipment and long-haul international container traffic. Strengthening Casablanca’s operational capacity is therefore viewed as a complementary move aimed at improving the efficiency of the country’s broader maritime logistics system.
For Morocco, where trade competitiveness is closely tied to port performance, the expansion represents more than a technical upgrade. It signals an effort to align infrastructure capacity with growing commercial demand and to ensure that logistics bottlenecks do not constrain economic growth.
As shipping lines seek ports capable of handling larger vessels more efficiently, the latest works at Casablanca are expected to improve the port’s appeal to carriers and strengthen Morocco’s standing in an increasingly competitive regional maritime landscape.
The upgrade at Casablanca port is being presented as a major logistics and trade milestone because it allows the port, for the first time, to receive vessels of up to 60,000 tons — a sharp jump from the previous ceiling of about 35,000 tons. The project involves the commissioning of 230 linear metres of quay at the multipurpose terminal, deepened to a 12-metre draft, allowing larger ships to berth and unload more cargo at a time.
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Why this matters is that Marsa Maroc is not just expanding port space — it is trying to reposition Casablanca as a more competitive regional trade and industrial gateway. The company says the works are part of a broader investment drive to improve efficiency, reduce logistics costs and support importers, exporters and the wider industrial-commercial ecosystem linked to the port. Marsa Maroc’s own half-year financial presentation says the Casablanca port deepening project forms part of an MAD 850 million investment plan for Casablanca and Jorf Lasfar, with the Casablanca component specifically aimed at handling larger vessels and raising throughput.
There is a strong industrial and trade backdrop to this development. Casablanca remains one of Morocco’s most important economic arteries, serving manufacturers, bulk importers, exporters and traders connected to the country’s commercial heartland. By allowing bigger ships to dock directly, the port can potentially lower shipping costs per ton, improve cargo turnaround and make Moroccan trade flows more efficient. That matters at a time when North African economies are competing aggressively to attract more maritime traffic, logistics investment and industrial activity.
The move also fits into Morocco’s wider port modernisation strategy, under which the country has been investing heavily in maritime infrastructure to support trade, industry and supply chains. Marsa Maroc says it is pursuing a broader multi-year expansion plan across its network, including container and bulk capacity upgrades, as Morocco seeks to strengthen its role in African, Mediterranean and global shipping routes. In that context, the Casablanca works are not an isolated project — they are part of a larger push to make Moroccan ports more efficient and commercially attractive.
Another key angle is the capacity growth outlook. Reports say the terminal’s annual handling capacity is expected to exceed 8 million tons by 2028, with work continuing to extend the deepened quay to 530 metres. That means the current upgrade is only the first visible phase of a longer-term expansion. For business and trade reporting, that gives the story a forward-looking dimension: it is not just about today’s ship size, but about how much more cargo Casablanca could absorb in the coming years
