Economy of Tangier
Encyclopedia
Tangier
Tangier, also Tangiers is a city in northern Morocco with a population of about 700,000 . It lies on the North African coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel...
s economy is the third biggest of all Moroccan cities, after the economic capital Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
and the political capital Rabat
Rabat
Rabat , is the capital and third largest city of the Kingdom of Morocco with a population of approximately 650,000...
.
Tangier is Morocco's second most important industrial center after Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
. The industrial sectors are diversified: textile
Textile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
, chemical, mechanical, metallurgical and naval. Currently, the city has four industrial park
Industrial park
An industrial park is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development...
s of which two have the status of free economic zone
Free economic zone
Many countries have, or have had at some time, designated areas where companies are taxed very lightly or not at all to encourage development or for some other reason...
(see Tangier Free Zone).
The years 2007 and 2008 will be particularly important for the city because of the completion of large construction projects currently being built. These include the Tangier-Mediterranean port ("Tanger-med
Tanger-med
Tanger-Med is a cargo and passenger port located about 40 km east of Tangier, Morocco. It is one of the largest ports on the Mediterranean and in Africa by capacity and went into service in July 2007. Its initial capacity was 3.5 million shipment containers....
") and its industrial parks, a 45,000-seat sports stadium, an expanded business district, and a renovated tourist infrastructure.
Agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
in the area of Tangier is tertiary and mainly cereal.
The infrastructure of this city of the strait of Gibraltar
Strait of Gibraltar
The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Spain in Europe from Morocco in Africa. The name comes from Gibraltar, which in turn originates from the Arabic Jebel Tariq , albeit the Arab name for the Strait is Bab el-Zakat or...
consists of a port
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
that manages flows of goods and travellers (more than one million travelers per annum) and integrates a marina
Marina
A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....
with a fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
port. Artisanal trade in the old medina
Medina
Medina , or ; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and...
(old city) specializes mainly in leather working, handicrafts made from wood and silver, traditional clothing, and shoes of Moroccan origin.
The city has seen a fast pace of rural exodus
Rural exodus
Rural flight is a term used to describe the migratory patterns of peoples from rural areas into urban areas.In modern times, it often occurs in a region following the industrialization of agriculture when fewer people are needed to bring the same amount of agricultural output to market and related...
from other small cities and villages. The population has quadrupled during the last 25 years (1 million inhabitants in 2007 vs. 250,000 in 1982). This phenomenon has resulted in the appearance of peripheral suburban districts, mainly inhabited by poor people, that often lack sufficient infrastructure.
Tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
. Seaside resort
Seaside resort
A seaside resort is a resort, or resort town, located on the coast. Where a beach is the primary focus for tourists, it may be called a beach resort.- Overview :...
s have been increasing with projects funded by foreign investments. Real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
and construction
Construction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
companies have been investing heavily in tourist infrastructures. A bay delimiting the city center extends for more than seven kilometers.
Hamptons International and Emaar have identified Tangier
Tangier
Tangier, also Tangiers is a city in northern Morocco with a population of about 700,000 . It lies on the North African coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel...
as a major growth area and recently unveiled Tinja, a resort on the Atlantic, twenty minutes drive from Tangier and an hour from Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. Tangier will be made up of six distinctive communities with a hill-top community as the centre-piece.
Typically, the resort features a wealth of recreational and leisure facilities as well as a beach and spa hotel. With this development, Emaar aims to capitalize on the rental market; a sound strategy with a current lack of quality housing available and also no tax on rental income for purchasers for five years.
In terms of pricing, on the higher-end of the market, pricing is anywhere between US$1,575 and US$4,726 per sq m built, depending on the specifications and services which remains competitive with Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and other Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
ern destinations".
Development
Before 1956, Tangier was a city with international status. It had a great image and attracted many artists. After Morocco regained control over Tangier, this attention slacked off. Investment was low and the city lost its economic importance. But when Mohammed VI became king in 1999, he developed a plan for the economic revival of Tangier.The economic boom in the city caused a population boom as well. Upgrading social services and infrastructure has become a necessity. A large-scale development program was created, requiring MAD 2.46bln (about $320mln) to upgrade the city. It was approved in August 2008 under the chairmanship of King Mohammed VI.
The upgrading program will benefit mainly the popular and suburban neighborhoods of the city in order to guarantee harmony in the urban setting by reinforcing basic infrastructures and providing social equipment to the environment-related projects. This colossal investment is meant to enable Tangier to hook up again with its prestigious image, and cope with the economic development triggered in the northern region, as huge, structuring projects are launched here and there on the Mediterranean coasts of the kingdom. Tangier Medina will benefit from $11.5mln to revamp the road grid, better public transportation, improve traffic and reinforce social equipment.
Infrastructure
New developments include a new airport terminal, a soccer stadium with seating for 45,000 spectators, a high-speed train line and a new highway that connects the city with Rabat and Casablanca. Additionally, a new train station was constructed, called Tanger-Ville.The high-speed "TGV" rail linking Tangier with Casablanca will be operational by 2013, and is expected to carry 8 million passengers the first year. This TGV line will require a USD 2.7Bn investment. 18 TGV cars are needed for this project that will contribute to reducing the duration of the trip between the two economic poles to 2h10 instead of 4h40 now.
Tangier Exportation Free Zone
The creation of the TEFZTangier Exportation Free Zone
Tangier Exportation Free Zone is a free economic zone located south of Tangier, Morocco. The zone has an area of 3.45 km². It is managed by Tangier Free Zone .-External links:* * - WebWire.com...
increased the economic output of the city significantly.
The TEFZ is a protected free trade environment where companies from around the world can operate tax-free. It covers an area of 345 hectares. It incorporates a vast container port at the junction of the biggest maritime routes in the world with the capacity to handle both cargo and passenger ships. The free zone allowed Tangier to develop into an industrial pillar of the country.
Tangier-Med
The Tangier-MedTanger-med
Tanger-Med is a cargo and passenger port located about 40 km east of Tangier, Morocco. It is one of the largest ports on the Mediterranean and in Africa by capacity and went into service in July 2007. Its initial capacity was 3.5 million shipment containers....
is the largest port in Africa and one of largest in the mediterranean sea.
The complex has important economic effects in terms of jobs, creation of added value and foreign investment. Its particular position on the Straits of Gibraltar, at the crossing of two major maritime routes, and 15 km from the European Union enables it to serve a market of hundreds of millions of consumers through the industrial and commercial free zones which will be run by well-known private operators.
It also wins part of the strong growth market of container transshipment and has became the leading hub for cereal transshipment, a facility which is non-existent in the north-west African region at present.
The complex is implemented, coordinated and managed by TMSA, a private company with public prerogatives, operating under an agreement with the State and interacting with the different ministries involved.