Tangier-Med Port Container Terminal

Location Tangier, Morocco

Client APM Terminals MedPort Tangier S.A.

Services Project Management

Project Value $887 million

Located in Tangier, Morocco, Tangier MedPort 2 (TM2) is the first fully automated container terminal in Africa. The port represents a critical link in maritime trade and reinforces Africa’s position in the global marketplace. The project is an expansion to the existing container terminal and entails a new container terminal facility strategically located on the Strait of Gibraltar, one of the world’s busiest shipping arteries, hosting approximately 200 commercial vessels per day and more than 60,000 annually. These vessels transport trade between Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas.

TM2 will attract more vessel calls and create additional routing options with improved efficiency, capacity, and the latest cargo-handling technology. The project will accommodate more than 35,000 dry containers and 2,500 refrigerated containers at any given time, and increase the port’s 20 foot equivalent units (TEUs) for an annual throughput capacity exceeding 9 million TEUs, making it the largest and most technologically advanced container terminal on the continent.

The project integrated the civil works with the cargo lifting cranes and shuttle carriers. All were automated and synchronized via the use of optical read and access control systems that operate the facility via CCTV, SCADA, and WIFI.

TM2 was one of the fastest new terminal construction projects for APM Terminals.

A Concession Agreement between APM Terminals and the Port Authority was executed with a requirement to meet an aggressive commercial operation milestone (with penalties), and TM2 achieved this milestone. The Agreement resulted in the client/operator consciously placing in motion a collective, fast-track execution plan for design, procurement, and construction, with all proceeding on parallel paths. This was necessary to achieve the completion date goals. 

Early in the project, Hill worked directly with APM Terminal’s suppliers to understand their design requirements and support needs, communicating these details to both the client and the designer, and liaising with technical and construction personnel of the civil contractor to establish open lines of communication for identifying issues and developing solutions. For the project to meet construction milestone dates, Hill implemented a creative and collaborative process to manage and overcome difficulties without compromising the schedule and quality of the work.

In addition, the Hill team held workshops with all stakeholders from around the globe to share their design details on the key equipment and to express their third-party needs in support of their contracted services. These workshops also helped overcome language barriers and terminology differences. This slowly created a coordinated design while concurrently advancing the work on the various components. The result was to integrate the components within the civil works design as each component was finalized.

The project won ENR’s global Best Project Award of Merit in the Airport/Port category.

“TM2 has been a challenging Project, both in terms of technical complexity and in terms of management of time, cost, Health, Safety & Environment (HSE), and quality. Through all phases of the project, Hill International has been supportive and flexible, adapting to the circumstances and with constant focus on adherence to the strict project schedule and budgets constraints. Hill International has also been instrumental in the successful, timely application and acquisition of all required building permits by APM Terminals. In regard to HSE, Hill International has provided continuous supervision of all activities on site and has as such contributed to the TM2 project achieving 1 million-man hours without Lost Time Injury (LTI).” -Rene Stelder, Head of Construction, Equipment, and IT APM Terminals Medport Tangier

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