With construction work on schedule, the 550-square- kilometer Special Development Zone, also known as the Tanger-Med port, will be operational in July according to recent government announcements. The first customers looking to use the Tanger-Med facilities are now able to set up in the northern city of Tangier. The zone is designed to emerge as a key transit point for container traffic between the US and the Mediterranean region. When the Moroccan government launched the Tanger-Med project in 2002 in the north of the country, its aim was to develop this region as a strategic center for transshipment, industry and trade. The project was managed by a governmental agency with privately-held company status, the Tanger-Med Special Agency. Among the services and facilities offered by the port are a 53km extension to the Casablanca-Tangier highway, and a 45km railway connecting the port to the city of Tangier. The close proximity of
