Tangier, vital for transport between Morocco and Europe

One of the most important places for intercontinental trade throughout history has been Tangier. This coastal city in Morocco, where HTG Express has been physically present for almost 3 years, is the key to the future of logistics transport between Africa and Europe. Transport to Morocco now passes through Tangier.

With one eye on the vast Atlantic ocean and the other on the Gibraltar Strait, Tangier remains a commercial and logistical hub of capital importance not only in the region, but throughout the world. Thanks to its privileged geographical position, this Moroccan city is the key to transport links on the America-Europe-Africa axes. All transport to Morocco passes through Tangier.

To strengthen our presence in the region, HTG Express is a member of CECIT. The Spanish Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Tangier is a non-profit economic association, whose objective is to defend and promote the interests of Spain in Tangier and the rest of the kingdom of Morocco. This alliance enables HTG Express to improve road transport services in the region through our local office as well as agile working methods across the two free zones.

At HTG Express we have improved our express transport services in the region, thanks to our own local delegation.

Further investment in industry is enabling record growth of up to 20% year on year in the region. These spectacular figures are mainly due to the prevalence of the automotive sector which, for the first time, has been able to overtake phosphate as the main source of Moroccan exports. Major companies such as Renault, PSA group, China’s BYD and Japan’s Mitsui Kinzoku already have manufacturing plants in Tangiers, with all that entails in terms of supply chain logistics and transport, both primary and secondary. For these and many other reasons, HTG Express is constantly working to supply the needs of the thriving industry.

Morocco has one of the best port areas in the world

In addition to the importance of this historic Moroccan city, a deep-water port was inaugurated in 2007, 20 kilometres from the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. The new Moroccan superport is located in the ‘Tangier free zone’ and since 1999 has been home to more than 750 companies, mainly Spanish and French. Among its many merits, in 2012 the Financial Times newspaper named it the best free port zone in the world, highlighting the use of renewable energy and the recent connection with the Tangier-Casablanca high-speed train.

This huge logistics hub, called Tangier Med, has direct access to the world’s second busiest shipping lane, the Strait of Gibraltar, and is currently the busiest port in the Mediterranean. It is capable of handling up to 9 million containers, 7 million passengers, 700 000 transport trucks and 10 million metric tons of fuel. In a short time, it has become possible to strengthen new transport models in Morocco and develop a powerful logistics industry around it.

An enclave of constant activity

Throughout history a multitude of powers have sought to maintain control over the city of Tangier and its surrounding region, a testament to the strategic importance of the area. So far, the presence of civilisations such as the Phoenicians, Carthaginians and Romans have been recorded and almost a million tourists a year visit the ruins of the city. From the 15th century onwards, several European powers such as Portugal, Spain and England turned Tangier into a trading centre and since 1684 it has been part of the kingdom of Morocco.

The activity within the Tangier-Castillejos-Tetouan triangle has not stopped growing and receives more and more investment in infrastructures and services.

It´s clear that Tangier’s importance in the region’s economy goes back centuries. It´s therefore easy to understand why the activity within the Tangier-Castillejos-Tetouan triangle has not stopped growing and is receiving more and more investment in the shape of infrastructure and service both from public and private institutions. The future of road, sea and air logistics with Europe passes through Tangier, an enclave in which HTG Express provides agile and efficient industrial express solutions with its transport service to and from Morocco.