The Logistics Sector on the Southern Shores of the Western ... - cetmo

October 2010<strong>The</strong> <strong>Logistics</strong> <strong>Sector</strong>on the Southern Shores of the Western Mediterranean1.1. Description of <strong>Logistics</strong> Clusters on the Southern Shores: OverviewFigure 1.1.1 Population Distribution and Network of Infrastructure in the MaghrebIn terms of the economic and regulatory context which underpins and conditions thetransport and logistics sector, the following factors are of note:In the case of Morocco and Tunisia, there are explicit economic policies for tighteningrelations with the European Union and creating nearshoring zones to attract as muchbusiness as possible. Algeria, for its part, is placing its hopes on the significantresources it has available, as well as a framework for internal development. In Libya,the government has adopted the model of using oil to generate growth, diversify theeconomy and lower unemployment. Mauritania, for its part, relies on its four basiceconomic sectors: three of them traditional (mining, agriculture and fishing) and onemore recent (oil).All the countries are involved in a process of industrial development, with morediversity in Morocco and Tunisia and more focus on the energy sector in Algeria.Numerous investment programmes and projects are under way in the three centralMaghreb countries. <strong>The</strong>y aim to improve linear infrastructure (roads and railways) inorder to develop a network of logistics hubs to concentrate traffic, improve transportorganization and intermodality, and serve as a basis for logistics provisions meetingmodern standards. In Libya, an ambitious development programme of road and portinfrastructure and the creation of hitherto non-existent rail infrastructure is under way.In Mauritania, infrastructure is also an important policy objective of the government,which is anxious to reinforce links with the other Maghreb countries and create aconvergence point between the north of the continent and Sub-Saharan Africa.Proportionally, the foreign general-cargo sector is larger in the Moroccan andTunisian economies. <strong>The</strong> increased requirements of this type of chain in terms of20 CETMO