Dakhla Atlantic is the country’s “largest port construction project”, according to the explanatory report accompanying the draft 2027 Finance Bill. The project is valued at more than 15 billion dirhams and was 70% complete as of mid-September 2026.
The draft budget’s regional breakdown puts the cost at 15.064 billion dirhams, up from an initial estimate of 13.614 billion dirhams following the addition of expansion works. Budget execution stands at 54%. Planned payment appropriations amount to 2.574 billion dirhams in 2027, 2.561 billion in 2028 and 2.157 billion in 2029.
Work scheduled for 2027 will focus on the port’s main infrastructure, including breakwaters, quays and associated facilities. Construction is expected to reach 90% completion during the year, with the project due to be finished by the end of 2028 and operations scheduled to begin in 2029.
Dakhla Atlantic Port nears completion
Two related projects are also planned: a 350-million-dirham road linking the port to the city of Dakhla and a 150-million-dirham industrial and logistics zone.
Nador West Med moves closer to operations
For Nador West Med, 2026 marks a “turning point,” according to the report on state-owned enterprises and public institutions. The port is moving from construction into the pre-operational phase, with most of its core infrastructure already completed. Operations are expected to begin gradually from the fourth quarter of 2026.
Nador West Med port. DR
Work still underway includes an 840-meter extension of the western quay, terminal superstructures, roads and utility networks, and the port’s main access road. Direct road connections required before the port opens are now 100% complete, at a cost of 798 million dirhams. In 2026, a consortium comprising Société d’Exploitation des Ports and Spain’s Boluda Group was authorized to provide tugboat and vessel assistance services. The port is also set to host Morocco’s first liquefied natural gas terminal, equipped with a floating storage unit capable of holding up to 175,000 cubic meters.
Container terminals account for much of the public investment earmarked for the Oriental region. Marsa Maroc plans to spend 1.233 billion dirhams on superstructures at the eastern and western terminals and another 1.887 billion dirhams on container cranes. Nador West Med has allocated 1.7 billion dirhams to expanding the western terminal. The first 300-hectare phase of the Betoya industrial acceleration zone is also scheduled to enter service.
The 104.2-kilometer Guercif–Nador motorway carries a price tag of 7.9 billion dirhams. Construction of the section between Driouch and the port is between 95% and 100% complete, depending on the contract package. It is expected to provide a connection to the port’s first operational section from late 2026. Work has also begun on the Guercif–Saka and Saka–Driouch sections, with support from the African Development Bank and the Islamic Development Bank. Both are due for completion in June 2029.
Across the motorway project as a whole, construction was 28% complete at the end of June 2026, while budget execution stood at 21%. Payment appropriations are set at 1.5 billion dirhams for 2027, followed by 2 billion in 2028 and 1.351 billion in 2029.
Nearby, the project to dual National Road 2 and improve access to the port is budgeted at 1.5 billion dirhams and is 6.2% complete. Work has also just begun on a 52-kilometer railway link to the port, likewise costing 1.5 billion dirhams.
Driouch-Guercif highway nears completion with more than 95% of key section finished
Aïn Aouda-Oued Zem expressway scheduled for 2029
Elsewhere, the 127-kilometer Aïn Aouda–Oued Zem expressway, costing 1.9 billion dirhams, will provide a direct link between the Rabat–Salé–Kénitra and Béni Mellal–Khénifra regions. It is designed to shorten journeys between Rabat, Khouribga and Béni Mellal while improving road safety. Completion is scheduled for 2029.
The explanatory report does not give an overall completion percentage for the expressway. However, the regional budget breakdown for Béni Mellal–Khénifra lists the section in Khouribga province, estimated to cost 649 million dirhams, as being in the start-up phase. Funding allocations for that section stand at 100 million dirhams in 2027, 185 million in 2028 and 154 million in 2029.
The government has also earmarked 500 million dirhams for road maintenance in 2027, with the aim of bringing 80% of the national road network into good condition by 2030. The 59-kilometer Rabat–Casablanca motorway project, budgeted at 6.5 billion dirhams, is expected to open around 2029. Meanwhile, cargo handled by Moroccan ports reached 262.6 million tonnes in 2025, up 8.9%, while construction of the Moulay Youssef breakwater in Casablanca is 92% complete.
