Morocco Transforms National Ports Agency Into State-Owned ‘Ports du Maroc SA’

On Aug 25, 2026

Marrakech – Morocco’s National Ports Agency (ANP) no longer exists in its previous form. Law No. 34.25 has entered into force following its publication in the Official Bulletin, converting the ANP into a joint-stock company named “Ports du Maroc SA.”

The reform was formalized through Official Bulletin No. 7533, dated August 10. The law was promulgated earlier by royal decree, Dahir No. 1.26.56, on July 28. The text modifies Law No. 15.02, which established the National Ports Agency and the Ports Operating Company. The ANP had operated as a public establishment since 2005, created under Dahir No. 1.05.146 of November 23, 2005.

The transformation followed a defined legislative path. The Council of Government adopted the draft law on December 11, 2025. The Chamber of Representatives approved it in June 2026, with 80 votes in favor and two against. The Chamber of Counselors then passed it unanimously on July 7.

The measure aligns with framework Law No. 50.21, which governs the overhaul of public establishments and enterprises. Its stated aim is to adapt the port operator’s legal and institutional framework to new governance requirements while strengthening the sector’s competitiveness.

Despite the “joint-stock company” label, the capital does not open to private shareholders. The state holds it entirely and exclusively. The reform changes the legal form, moving the entity into ordinary company law under Law No. 17.95 on joint-stock companies, and leaves ownership untouched.

Continuity is central to the change. Nizar Baraka, Minister of Equipment and Water, told parliamentarians that the transformation creates no new legal entity.

The company’s assets, rights, and obligations – civil, administrative, commercial, financial, and fiscal – remain identical to those held by the ANP. Its contracts, conventions, partnerships, and licenses stay valid, and agreements with third parties are not affected.

Its initial patrimony consists of the agency’s assets and liabilities as recorded in the ANP’s latest balance sheet, and the company’s budget matches the agency’s last budget. A separate regulatory text will set the company’s initial bylaws, including the list of its first officers and the amount of its capital.

Staff face no disruption either. According to Baraka, all employees retain their administrative status within the new company. Service completed at the ANP counts as service at “Ports du Maroc SA,” and no agent loses acquired benefits. The law bars the company’s bylaws from granting employees a status less favorable than the one they held at the ANP, including for pensions and health coverage.

Governance shifts to a board of directors that may include independent administrators alongside a director general. The board will set port fees and tariffs, ship mooring charges, and cargo dues, after consulting the Ministry of Equipment and Water. Its tariff powers extend to fixing the maximum and minimum limits for services provided by concession and permit holders. The board will also form internal committees. The company may also create subsidiaries.

Its core mission stays unchanged. “Ports du Maroc SA” will manage, develop, maintain, and promote the kingdom’s ports on behalf of the state. It will organize port activities, determine the number of authorizations and concessions, conclude concession agreements, and grant exploitation and temporary occupation permits.

Where a port is placed under a management concession, the company will exclusively exercise the powers of the port authority set out in Law No. 71.18 on port policing.

The company may directly operate certain activities when no concessionaire or permit holder handles them. It can also pursue industrial, logistics, and service activities tied to its purpose, and act as delegated project owner for port infrastructure.

Two exceptions remain in place. Ports within the Tanger-Med special development zone and those at the Marchica lagoon site stay under separate regimes, outside the company’s scope.

The law further tasks the company with developing smart ports, advancing digital transformation, and supporting environmental protection and sustainable development. It also commits the company to social responsibility through local development projects in port areas. The operational transition will take effect once the new management bodies are installed.

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