On a swath of coastal land 40 km east of Tangier, a project is underway that bills itself as a revolution for the Moroccan economy and a solution to the problem of rural neglect. Comprising a brand-new mega-capacity port that opens onto the Mediterranean and Atlantic, road and railway infrastructural renovations, and special zones of logistics, industrial, and trade activity, the TangierMed project is set to become a nexus of international trade, investment, and manufacturing. The project’s 2002 launch with a $5.57 billion investment was Moroccan King Mohammed VI’s “strategic decision to transform the region into an investment hub” through a “major restructuring project consisting of a commercial and industrial port on the banks of the straits, east of Tangier.” The King mandated the TangierMed Special Agency (TMSA) to administer the project’s free zones, Port Authority, and regional development From its ideal geographical situation at the crossroads of Africa and
