The Portuguese used the ruins of Anfa to build a military fortress in 1515, and were eventually expelled by the Moroccan Saadi Dynasti in 1530.

The foundation of the current port started during the reign of Sidi Mohammed Bin Abdellah, the Alawi Sultan of Morocco in the 18th century.

In the 19th century, the area's population began to grow as Casablanca became a major supplier of wool to the booming textile industry in Britain and shipping traffic increased.

The Moroccan administration of the time entrusted to the Compagnie Marocaine the construction of a small port whose water surface to be sheltered does not exceed 10 hectares.

The work started in 1906, consisted of the construction of two small piers out of grip of share and others of the wet dock.