Morocco to launch Chinese industrial city in Tangiers

Some 200 Chinese companies are looking to set up shop in Morocco, following an agreement between the Moroccan government and China’s Haite group to launch an industrial park near the city of Tangiers.

Moulay Hafid Alami, the Moroccan Minister for Industry and New Technologies said: “As we all know, there are structural changes in China, where economic operators are now looking for competitive platforms. They have chosen Morocco as one of those competitive platforms.”

With an initial investment of US$1 billion, the “Mohamed VI Tangier Tech City” aims to generate 100,000 jobs, including 90,000 for employees from the Tangiers area.

The project is scheduled to take 10 years and work will start in the second half of 2017.

It will serve as the North Africa base for Chinese companies operating in the sectors of automobile manufacturing, aeronautics and textiles.

Morocco has already launched an industrialization drive centred on Tangiers which is being turned into a hub with a free trade zone and deepwater harbour.