The loan granted by IFC to Tanger Med, amounting to 197 million euros — including 47 million provided under its Joint Loan Portfolio Program — will be the first financing matched with sustainability indicators in Morocco and also among the first in the port sector in emerging markets globally. The main performance indicators associated with the loan relate to gender diversity and the use of renewable energy.
A group of international banks led by JP Morgan is also supporting the project with a commercial loan amounting to 203 million euros. A MIGA guarantee against non-compliance with financial obligations will cover these lenders for a period of 15 years, a recent press release said.
This type of guarantee protects against losses resulting from a public company’s failure to make a timely payment on a financial obligation.
The financial package should make it possible to increase the capacity of the port and increase the number of trucks processed from to more than a million trucks; the port complex processed nearly 477,000 TIR units in 2023. The project is also expected to create direct jobs, stimulate economic growth and strengthen investor confidence in Morocco’s infrastructure sector.
“Tanger Med plays an essential role in Morocco’s imports and exports. This project will allow the port complex to significantly increase its truck handling capacity, support the growth of exports in the agri-food and industrial sectors, and strengthen commercial links between Morocco and Europe,” underlines Loubna Ghaleb, member of the Executive Board and Director of Strategy at the Tanger Med Group.
And added: “This is our second financial non-compliance guarantee project carried out in Morocco and it will help improve port infrastructure,” says Hiroshi Matano, executive vice president of MIGA. MIGA hopes to deploy this type of product to other public companies in the country to help them boost their productivity.
“This project will strengthen Morocco’s position as a growing global maritime and logistics hub, ideally placed to connect the main markets of Europe, Africa and the Americas,” explains David Tinel, regional representative of IFC for the Maghreb. “We expect it to spark further investment in Morocco’s infrastructure sector to capitalize on the tremendous opportunities that present themselves as the country prepares to co-host the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and host the Cup of the FIFA World in 2030,” he continues.
The Tanger Med complex is the leading container port in Africa and the Mediterranean, and it provides direct maritime connections to 180 ports and 70 countries. The Tanger Med group intends to promote gender diversity by implementing programs intended to promote women’s access to management positions, with the objective of increasing the number of female managers.
In addition, as part of its strategy to become a clean energy hub and in accordance with its decarbonization plan, Tanger Med has set itself the objective of increasing the share of green electricity (solar and wind). The project also provides for various measures to mitigate climate risks, for example the raising of breakwaters and quays to counter rising sea levels, and the lengthening of quays to accommodate larger, less polluting ships.
This expansion will strengthen Morocco’s trade capabilities and regional connectivity, which will have favorable knock-on effects for multiple sectors of the economy. Furthermore, the project is part of MIGA’s strategy which aims to support resilient infrastructure and regional integration, the press release said.
