The American agency for Trade and Development (USTDA) has approved a grant of US$ 370,000 for ship and port security to the Tangier-Mediterranean Special Agency (TMSA), said a release of the USTDA.
The goal of the grant is to "fund technical assistance to TMSA, related to the Tangier-Mediterranean Project in the areas of International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code, Customs-Trade Partnership against Terrorism (C-TPAT), and Container Security Initiative (CSI) compliance," confirmed the release.
TMSA executives said USTDA-TMSA cooperation is part of the efforts to equip Tangier-Med port with logistic infrastructure that would contribute to developing Moroccan-American trade, as part of the Free Trade Agreement signed between the two countries.
Founded on September 10, 2002, TMSA is in charge of the "Tangier-Mediterranean" project and has the public prerogatives necessary to coordinate and manage the project. TMSA will also select the U.S. contractor that will provide the technical assistance.
USTDA's role is to advance "economic development and U.S. commercial interests in developing and middle-income countries. The agency funds various forms of technical assistance, feasibility studies, training, orientation visits and business workshops that support the development of a modern infrastructure and a fair and open trading environment."
The Tangier-Med port (35 kilometres east of the Northern town of Tangier) expands over 500 square kilometres and employs 145,000 people. It will receive and ship containers transiting through the Gibraltar strait from or to Europe and other continents.
Three duty free zones will also be built within the port, including an industrial zone covering 600ha, a trade zone of 200ha and another free duty zone of 130ha, reported MAP.
© Morocco Times 2005
