The Port Authority of Algeciras Bay (APBA) hopes that Operation Marhaba dedicated to MREs, suspended for almost two years by Morocco due to health crisis, will resume this year.
Next week, it will be two years since Morocco suspended maritime passenger traffic with Spain via the strait due to the health crisis, effectively canceling two editions of Operation Marhaba which allowed Moroccans in Europe to reach their country via Spanish ports to spend their summer holidays there. This situation has led to heavy losses for shipping companies and companies operating in the ports of Algeciras and Tarifa, which in recent years have ensured the passage of more than three million passengers and nearly 800,000 vehicles each summer through the part of Operation Transit.
After the missed editions of 2020 and 2021, the Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras (APBA) hopes for a return to normal this year and has already started preparations for the holding of Operation Marhaba, reports Europa Sur. In this sense, the APBA has already launched a call for tenders for the installation of tents equipped with benches under which passengers will wait for boarding, announced Gerardo Landaluce, its president. The service should cost 1,641,098 euros for a renewable three-year contract. Likewise, prayer tents will be set up within the port of Algeciras.
For the moment, Morocco is keeping its maritime borders closed. For its part, Spain is negotiating with the Moroccan authorities for the resumption of maritime passenger traffic. Operation Marhaba, the first edition of which was organized in 1987, generally begins in mid-June and ends in September. But it requires several months of coordination and preparation between the Moroccan and Spanish authorities.
