Economy of Tangier

Artisanal trade in the old medina (old city) specializes mainly in leather working, handicrafts made from wood and silver, traditional clothing, and shoes of Moroccan origin.

This phenomenon has resulted in the appearance of peripheral suburban districts, mainly inhabited by poor people, that often lack sufficient infrastructure.

Trade included trinkets for tourists; oxen, chickens, meat, and eggs for Gibraltar and Spain; and some blankets and slippers for Egypt.

The upgrading program will benefit mainly the popular and suburban neighborhoods of the city in order to guarantee harmony in the urban setting by reinforcing basic infrastructures and providing social equipment to the environment-related projects.

This colossal investment is meant to enable Tangier to hook up again with its prestigious image, and cope with the economic development triggered in the northern region, as huge, structuring projects are launched here and there on the Mediterranean coasts of the kingdom.

Tangier Medina will benefit from $11.5mln to revamp the road grid, better public transportation, improve traffic and reinforce social equipment.

[3] New developments include a new airport terminal, a soccer stadium with seating for 45,000 spectators, a high-speed train line and a new highway that connects the city with Rabat and Casablanca.

The high-speed "TGV" rail linking Tangier with Casablanca will be operational by 2018, and is expected to carry 8 million passengers the first year.

It incorporates a vast container port at the junction of the biggest maritime routes in the world with the capacity to handle both cargo and passenger ships.

Its particular position on the Straits of Gibraltar, at the crossing of two major maritime routes, and 15 km from the European Union enables it to serve a market of hundreds of millions of consumers through the industrial and commercial free zones which will be run by well-known private operators.

The complex is implemented, coordinated and managed by TMSA, a private company with public prerogatives, operating under an agreement with the State and interacting with the different ministries involved.