Agadir Port: Tenders Launched for Cruise Terminal Revive Debate Over Port Redevelopment

The Agadir port development project is back in the spotlight after the Infrastructure and Studies Directorate of the National Ports Agency (ANP) launched an international tender for geotechnical investigations related to the cruise terminal at Agadir port.

According to the available data, the ANP has estimated the cost of the works covered by the tender at 17,888,970 dirhams. Bids will be opened on November 12 to select the company that will be awarded this major contract. On November 3, bids will also be opened for the “stability study on a scale model of the cruise terminal at Agadir port,” with the cost set at 1,440,000 dirhams.

According to the same data, the project involves upgrading Agadir port through the development of a terminal dedicated to large cruise ships. The selected company or companies will conduct a study on upgrading the port—particularly the cruise terminal—and will draw up possible scenarios based on existing technical, sedimentological and geological data.

The launch of these calls for tenders for technical and geotechnical studies aimed at developing a terminal for large cruise ships has reignited debate over the future of Agadir port as a whole, including whether its commercial and fishing functions should be replaced by tourism and leisure activities. A few years ago, this issue sparked deep divisions among elected officials in Agadir and across the Souss-Massa region.

The future of Agadir port has been at the center of numerous debates for years, amid deep disagreements among the region’s elected officials at the time, when it was known as Souss-Massa-Drâa. This prompted the supervisory authorities to postpone the matter. It now appears that the time has come to reopen the file, but this time under a less sensitive label, for fear of provoking protests.

According to sources, the future of Agadir port is both an old and a new issue that regularly returns to the forefront, particularly as several constraints have emerged that are hampering its development. These obstacles pose serious problems for exporters and cruise ships, which struggle to dock at the port, as well as for cargo vessels carrying agricultural products for export. The port must be cleared of its ships whenever a large export or cruise vessel is due to enter. In response to these constraints, the option considered several years ago was to relocate the port once development of the industrial zone dedicated to maritime activities had been completed. This would entail moving the fishing port and converting it into a marina and tourist port.

Although the option of relocating the fishing port and export-related commercial activities remained on the table for a long time, implementing it proved extremely difficult, as it risked triggering tensions and protests, particularly among industry professionals, seafarers and small investors. Converting the port would also threaten the benefits and livelihoods of thousands of seafarers who support tens of thousands of families.

Calls to convert the port’s activities regularly resurface, suggesting that relocating industry professionals to another area may have become inevitable. Some have even linked the issue to the vision of a major political party. The party’s group in the House of Councillors had already raised the question of converting Agadir port’s activities during a meeting with a former minister of Equipment, Transport and Logistics. A parliamentary councillor had urged the group to organize the study day after collecting the signatures of several parliamentarians in support of the conversion and relocation plan.