The Minister of Agriculture and Maritime Fisheries, Aziz Akhannouch, accompanied by the Minister Delegate to the Minister of the Interior, Charki Draiss, proceeded on Monday to the inauguration of the new port of Boujdour, a structure intended to add value to local fishing products. This integrated project, carried out with a budget estimated at 378.8 million dirhams, is part of the Halieutis plan and the national programme for the development of coastal fishing activities. It aims to improve the conditions for receiving artisanal fishing boats and vessels and to contribute to economic and social development in the region, notably through job creation and the valorisation of maritime fishing products. This new port, which should accommodate more than 700 artisanal fishing boats and dozens of coastal fishing vessels, constitutes, with its annexes, an integrated project encompassing a fish market, an ice manufacturing unit, and a management and storage depot for standardised plastic containers, Mr. Akhannouch indicated in a statement to the press. All these units will be operational at the same time, which will allow for better valorisation of maritime fishing products, he specified. The minister also gave, on the same occasion, the kick-off for the construction work of an industrial zone near the port which will not fail to have a positive impact on local development. These projects mark the beginning of the construction in Boujdour of a core of a major maritime fishing project which will be beneficial both to the local population and to all the southern provinces, he indicated. Financed within the framework of a partnership between the Ministry of Equipment and Transport and the Agency for the Promotion and Economic and Social Development of the Southern Provinces of the Kingdom, the new port of Boujdour has two protection structures, namely a main breakwater of 724 m and a transverse breakwater of 260 m, in addition to an inclined plane for the dry-docking and repair of boats.