Morocco denies stoppage of large port building

Morocco on Tuesday denied the stoppage of construction works of a large port near the northern city of Tangiers.

Equipment and Transport Minister, Karim Ghallab, discarded as "sheer and baseless," rumours on the halt to construction of the Tangiers-Mediterranean port, launched earlier this year by King Mohammed VI.

In a response to a question by a deputy of the Chamber of Advisors (upper house of parliament), Ghallab said the project is ongoing according to the initially-set schedule.

After studies conducted in the first half of 2002 and the launching of tenders in July 2002, the materialisation of the project will be entrusted in the first half of 2003, he said, adding construction works are expected to be completed by end of 2006 or beginning of 2007.

The project will cost 11 billion DH, nearly US$ 1.1 billion, 5 billion of which are poured in the port construction.

The Hassan II Fund, the Abu Dhabi Fund and the Moroccan State will financially contribute to the project General State Budget.