The port's deputy director, who spoke to Reuters, said that the port expects its nominal capacity of nine millions containers to be exceeded this year. Security problems in the Red Sea have had little effect on traffic growth.

The port handled 8.61 million 20-foot equivalent unit (TEU) last year, up 13.4% from 2022.

Official figures show that tonnage increased 14.9% in the first quarter of this year to 33.3 million tons, and revenue grew 18.3% to $1 Billion.

Rachid Houari, a Reuters reporter, said that "we also grew in terms of container growth by a certain percent". The exact number was at the end of the year.

In an office that overlooked an export terminal filled with cars made in Morocco, he stated, "Now, each terminal is doing just a bit more traffic than its theoretical capacity. I believe we will be able to do better than nine millions containers."

"We want to make our port function at its best possible productivity," he stated, pointing out that terminal TC1 operated by APM TT processed 2.5 million TEUs in the past year, compared to its nominal capacity, which is 1.5 million TEUs.

Houari stated that the port's growth is driven by its location on the Mediterranean coast, its connections with 180 ports and its partnerships, including with Maersk, Hapag Loyd, and CMA CGM.

Ports have often been cited as having benefited from the rerouting of container vessels around Africa in order to avoid attacks on the Red Sea by Houthi militants aligned with Iran.

Houari noted that the Red Sea container traffic represented only 25 percent of the total traffic in the port. Many vessels are still passing through the Suez Canal, despite the disruptions. The bulk of port traffic involves Africa, Europe, and the Americas.

The port is supported by industrial zones, which are home to 1200 companies and employ 110.000 people. Last year, exports totaled $15 billion, or 20 percent of all Moroccan exports.

Houari stated that the country plans to expand their industrial zones to 5,000 ha to attract more investors into high-value industries. Mark Potter edited the report by Ahmed Eljechtimi.