Morocco has recently kick-started the process for the construction of Africa’s largest shipyard to boost the making of new ships, a project that coincides with an ongoing port expansion program spearheaded by the country’s port operator ANP. These developments could impact the production and supply of marine coatings, especially those with capacity to boost efforts in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Both the shipbuilding project and port expansion program are mainly driven by Morocco’s steady economic growth and increasing international trade, especially with the European Union, the country’s largest trade partner and foreign investor. Hence the surge in demand for more cargo capacity at ports and spacious vessels to accommodate the increasing export and import volumes.

Morocco’s economy, which the World Bank says “demonstrated resilience and positive trends in 2024 despite facing significant challenges,”  is expected to grow faster at a pace of 3.6% in 2025. This growth is driven largely by improved climate conditions that would allow for a partial recovery in agricultural output.

Morocco’s real gross domestic product (GDP) is projected to grow at 3.8% in both 2025 and 2026, “driven by resilient domestic demand and the performance of the tourism and industrial sectors,” according to a report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a global organization of 38 member countries for the promotion of economic progress and world trade.

“Morocco has experienced solid export-driven growth in recent years, despite a prolonged drought that held back agricultural production and household incomes and the tourism sector has continued to grow strongly, with a record number of 4 million visitors in the first quarter of 2025,” it says.

Furthermore, foreign direct investment (FDI) has been strong and new production is coming onstream, supporting output in sectors such as aeronautics, textile and food, OECD says of Morocco, which is the only African country with both an Atlantic and a Mediterranean coast.

Some of the paints and coatings companies in Morocco have also recently announced new investments, including Colorado, a Moroccan-incorporated company that a few months ago invested in its production infrastructure to reduce “diesel consumption and replace old mixers and an old production line by new efficient ones, thus, reducing electricity consumption,” according to a previous company statement.

Morocco has 43 ports, 14 of them open to international trade with the seam accounting for at least 98% of the country’s international trade with huge marine coatings opportunities offered by ship owners that require maintenance in  dry dock or at sea. 

“Thanks partly to investment supporting measures like the investment charter, both domestic investment and FDI are projected to remain robust, further fostering the expansion of the manufacturing, tourism and construction sectors,” it adds.

This resilience shown by Morocco’s economy has seen the country’s exports to key markets in the European Union, Middle East, US and Africa increase, triggering a demand for more and bigger cargo vessels and larger modern ports to accommodate them.

New Shipyard in Casablanca

Morocco has recently launched an international tender for the concession, development, equipping, operation, and maintenance of what is slated to become Africa’s largest shipyard in the port city of Casablanca, at an estimated cost of US$300 million.

Morocco’s National Ports Agency (ANP), a government-owned entity responsible for the development, management, maintenance, concession and regulation of most Moroccan ports, is implementing the project and is currently seeking to identify  experienced operators for a 30-year concession to manage the new Casablanca shipyard sitting on 52 acres.

“With this project, Casablanca aims to make the most of its geographic position and the high amount of traffic along its coasts. It also hopes to respond to the strong demand for boat repair in light of the saturation in supply, in particular, on the Canary Islands,” ANP said in a statement.

“Thanks to the new facilities, the three fitting-out quays, the future shipyard will have the capacity to deal with 22 units per year in a dry dock, 400 to 470 boats using a dockside crane and simultaneously six medium sized boats on the lifting platform.”

According to the British Business Association Morocco, investing in shipbuilding “follows a pattern of successful industrial expansion, most notably in the automotive sector.”

Furthermore, the increasing container traffic through the Tanger-Med port by an estimated 18.8% “contrasting with the stagnation at Spain’s Algeciras port, demonstrates Morocco’s growing prominence in global trade and logistics.”

ANP, is meanwhile, investing US$ 7.5 billion  to upgrade and expand its 27 ports as part of its 2030 National Port Strategy. This includes the completion of the Nador West Med Port by 2030 at a cost of US$ 1.5 billion and progress on the US$1.7 billion Dakhla Atlantic Port project, an investment trend that is expected to trigger increase in demand for eco-friendly marine coatings.

“The new Dakhla Atlantic port aims to boost development projects in its southern provinces and anchor the country’s ambitious Atlantic Initiative, which aims to link the landlocked countries of the African Sahel to a deepwater port on the Atlantic. The first phase is expected to open by 2030,” says a statement by the US Department of Trade.

The shipbuilding and port expansion by ANP is likely to catalyze demand for sustainable marine coatings suitable for new build shipyards, dry docking, inland marine and seastock, with traits to protect them from fouling, corrosion and UV radiation.

New Opportunities for Coatings

This government-driven maritime transportation investment is expected to open more business opportunities for Morocco-based local and international market players such as Hempel Maroc, Jotun Maroc, BASF, Mader Group, PPG Industries, FACOP, CODERE, Akzo Nobel, and CMPM, among others, some with the latest marine coating technology to support the country’s expanding maritime transportation.

For instance, Hempel, which operates in Morocco through its 100%-owned Hempel Maroc SARL, announced in 2024 its next-generation silicone hull coating solution, Hempaguard Ultima building “on the success  of previous Hempaguard coatings, which utilise patented Actiguard ingredients to provide the most effective fouling protection on the  market.”

For PPG Industries, which a few years ago unveiled a facility in Morocco’s Tangier city to make automotive sealants for local vehicle production, the country’s shipbuilding industry and port modernisation would be a good opportunity to increase its marine coatings solutions. These include PPG Sigmagline 2390, PPG Nexeon 810, PPG Sigma Sailadvance NX and PPG Sigma Sailadvance GX.

“Ship owners and shipyards are looking for innovative solutions to comply with stricter environmental regulations and meet their sustainability goals – these include low-friction hull coatings that reduce vessel greenhouse gas emissions and provide sustainably advantaged application procedures,” PPG Industries said in a statement in November 2024.

Morocco, which has 3,500km of coastline, including 600km along the Mediterranean Sea and more than 2,800km along the Atlantic Ocean, would have to combine its maritime transportation growth with the supply of marine coatings solutions that supports the country’s ambitious greenhouse gas (GHG) emission-reduction goals.

As Morocco invests more in the expansion of its maritime transportation systems and the modernisation of key ports, the country’s paints and coatings market players now have an opportunity to expand their marine coatings product offers with demand likely to increase in 2026 when the shipyard project is likely to take shape and implementation of some of the ongoing port upgrading undertakings reach a climax.