Tangier, Jul 2 (IANS): Port operations of the new Tangier Med II port was launched in northern Morocco over the weekend that will make it the leading port not only in the Mediterranean but a hub for Africa.

This new port, which includes two new container terminals with an additional capacity of 6 million TEUs, will further strengthen the position of the Tangier Med port complex as a reference hub in Africa and the world for logistics flows and international trade, with a total capacity of over 9 million containers, Morocco's official MAP news agency said.

It consolidates Morocco's influence in the Euro-Mediterranean area and in its Maghreb and Arab environment, enhances its vocation as a hub for trade between Europe and Africa, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, and at the same time strengthens its central role as an active partner in international trade and well integrated country into the global economy.

The launching ceremony was conducted in Fahs Anjra province by Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan, who represented King Mohammed VI at the ceremony.

The construction of the Tangier Med complex provides the North Region with a solid international economic backbone, thus enabling it to develop its rich potential and make it a model for integrated regional development at the crossroad of maritime routes. Tangier Med has succeeded in connecting Morocco to 77 countries and 186 ports, thus helping to establish the Kingdom on the international maritime scene and to raise it from 83rd to 17th place in the ranking of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

This structuring project also includes several business areas that have seen the establishment of more than 912 companies in the industrial, logistics and service sectors, and have created more than 75,000 direct jobs.