Morocco is pushing forward with the construction of the Dakhla Atlantic Port, a flagship infrastructure project designed to reshape maritime flows along the Atlantic coast of Africa. With an estimated investment exceeding $1.2 billion, the port is set to become a central hub for trade between Europe, West Africa, and the Americas, strategically challenging the dominance of ports in the Canary Islands, particularly Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Positioned in Western Sahara, the project also serves a political objective: deepening Morocco’s integration of the territory through large-scale development and economic entrenchment.
The port will be one of the largest in the southern region and is projected to handle up to 35 million tonnes of cargo annually once fully operational by 2028. The design includes a commercial terminal, a fishing port, and a shipyard, with additional logistics zones planned to support multimodal connections with road and future rail infrastructure. According to Morocco’s National Ports Strategy 2030, Dakhla will play a key role in rebalancing the country’s port activity, which has long been concentrated in the north around Casablanca and Tangier Med.
The Dakhla port project is viewed as a direct competitor to long-established transshipment hubs in the Canary Islands. For decades, ports such as Las Palmas have acted as refueling and redistribution centers for maritime traffic between Africa, Europe, and the Americas. However, the rise of Dakhla as a deepwater port with modern infrastructure and state financing may lure shipping lines seeking lower costs, streamlined customs, and proximity to new African growth corridors. With growing interest in African logistics, Bloomberg reported that global investors are watching Dakhla closely as a symbol of Morocco’s rising economic ambitions.
Beyond its economic and logistical role, the port carries significant geopolitical weight. Its location in Western Sahara reinforces Morocco’s control over the territory and reflects a broader policy of development-led integration. Infrastructure is at the heart of this strategy. The Moroccan government has already begun paving new expressways to Dakhla and intends to link the port with railways as part of a long-term plan to connect the Atlantic coast with inland economic zones. This vision aligns with Morocco’s desire to serve as a logistics bridge between Africa and the European Union while asserting itself as a regional power.
The design of the Dakhla Atlantic Port includes multiple sustainability measures. The project will incorporate renewable energy, digital port management, and emissions-reducing technology. Morocco, which has already built one of the largest solar plants in the world, plans to extend these environmental principles to its maritime sector. According to Construction Review, environmental safeguards and green energy usage are integral to the port’s operating philosophy, appealing to global shipping companies under pressure to decarbonize their supply chains.
Crucially, the Canary Islands, particularly the ports of Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife, face growing competition. While these Spanish ports have long served as vital links for goods between Europe, West Africa, and Latin America, Dakhla’s emergence offers shippers a new alternative, especially as geopolitical tensions in the region reshape trade alliances and shipping strategies.
Major investment in Dakhla aims to transform Western Sahara into a key logistics hub, challenging regional competitors
Moroccan officials see the port as a means to strengthen economic ties across the Atlantic, not only with Europe but also with Latin America. The plan includes attracting investment in agribusiness, fisheries, and renewable energy industries, sectors that dominate southern Morocco. Local authorities in the Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab region anticipate thousands of direct and indirect jobs from the port’s operation. The Moroccan Agency for Investment and Export Development has already identified Dakhla as a strategic point in its broader campaign to promote Morocco as a competitive and stable platform for African trade. For further insight on Morocco’s maritime investment agenda, Financial Ports has published analysis on how Moroccan ports are adapting to regional competition.
The consequences for the Canary Islands could be substantial. While the Spanish ports have built strong reputations for reliability and EU funding has helped modernize terminals, rising operating costs and dependency on European regulation could make them less attractive for future freight flows. Maritime operators may prefer a Moroccan port with faster customs, lower port charges, and fewer bureaucratic constraints. These dynamics raise concern among Canarian shipping associations, who have voiced apprehensions about Dakhla diverting maritime routes traditionally served from Spanish territory.
Meanwhile, Morocco’s international partnerships are shifting. After years of diplomatic tension, Rabat and Madrid signed bilateral agreements in 2022 that included maritime collaboration. Still, the Dakhla project underscores Morocco’s desire for economic sovereignty in port infrastructure, even if it means direct competition with Spain. It is also in line with the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), to which Morocco is a signatory, and which aims to boost intra-African trade by reducing tariffs and non-tariff barriers.
One of the most critical factors for Dakhla’s success will be its ability to attract regular shipping lines and establish freight corridors. Morocco has a track record of executing port mega-projects successfully—Tangier Med being the flagship example, now ranked as Africa’s largest port. If Dakhla achieves even a fraction of this success, it could become a pivotal player in Atlantic trade, reshaping routes that have been dominated for decades by European ports.
In an era where global supply chains are being redrawn and economic geography is in flux, Dakhla Atlantic Port stands as a bold geopolitical and economic bet. Morocco is not simply building a port; it is declaring its ambition to become a logistics gateway for an entire continent. Whether it can deliver on this vision will depend on foreign investment, political stability, and the ability to execute infrastructure plans on time and at scale. But one thing is certain: the Atlantic is becoming more competitive, and Dakhla is at the center of this transformation.
