Jorf Lasfar (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

for "Yellow Cliffs")McGuinness, Justin.
Morocco, 4th ed.
(2003).

Footprint Travel Guides Footprint Travel Guides is the imprint of Footprint Handbooks Ltd, a publisher of guidebooks based in Bath in the United Kingdom. Particularly noted for their coverage of Latin America, their ''South American Handbook'', first published in 1924, ...

. p. 142. . Google Books. Retrieved on April 7, 2011. is a deepwater commercial port located on the Atlantic coast of

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...

. In terms of the volume of product processed, as of 2004, it was considered the second most important port in Morocco (just after

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

). It is home to a swiftly expanding industrial quarter, which includes both major

artificial fertilizer A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...

and

petrochemical Petrochemicals (sometimes abbreviated as petchems) are the chemical products obtained from petroleum by refining. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewabl ...

factories. Its harbour is well equipped for the exportation of

phosphate rock Phosphorite, phosphate rock or rock phosphate is a non-detrital sedimentary rock that contains high amounts of phosphate minerals. The phosphate content of phosphorite (or grade of phosphate rock) varies greatly, from 4% to 20% phosphorus pento ...

(transported from Gantour and Ouled Abdoun) and various chemicals such as pure

sulphur Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula ...

ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . A stable binary hydride, and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinct pungent smell. Biologically, it is a common nitrogenous ...

, and

sulphuric acid Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid ( Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen and hydrogen, with the molecular for ...

. The city is home to the largest independent

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many ...

in the country—primarily funded by investments from the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland *Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri *Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia *Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports * Swiss Internation ...

company

ABB Group ABB Ltd. is a Swedish- Swiss multinational corporation headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland. The company was formed in 1988 when Sweden's Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget (ASEA) and Switzerland's Brown, Boveri & Cie merged to crea ...

and the American company CMS Energy—which was thought to be capable of creating a third of Morocco's total power output.Müller-Jentsch, Daniel.
The Development of Electricity Markets in the Euro-Mediterranean Area: Trends and Prospects for Liberalization and Regional Integration
' (2001).

World Bank Publications The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Int ...

. p. 50. . Google Books. Retrieved on April 7, 2011. The investment, numbering $1.5 billion, was the single largest foreign investment on Moroccan soil up until that point. In 2002 the Moroccan company

Office Chérifien des Phosphates The OCP Group (OCP S.A.) (formerly Office Chérifien des Phosphates) is a Moroccan state-owned phosphate rock miner, phosphoric acid manufacturer and fertilizer producer. Founded in 1920, the company has grown to become the world's largest produc ...

(OCP)—a state-owned phosphate exporter—started the building of an

air quality Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different types ...

research laboratory A research institute, research centre, research center or research organization, is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often im ...

at Jorf Lasfar. It was announced in 2008 that the Abu Dhabi-based International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) was in the beginning stages of preparations for the construction of an oil refinery at Jorf Lasfar at a cost of $5 billion. With a proposed production capacity of 200, 000 barrels per day (bpd), the refinery is set to be completed in 2013. In the beginning of 2010, OCP began accepting proposals for the building of a

desalination plant Desalination is a process that takes away mineral components from saline water. More generally, desalination refers to the removal of salts and minerals from a target substance, as in soil desalination, which is an issue for agriculture. Saltw ...

. The Moroccan government was interested in building the plant at least since 2001, when the United States Trade and Development Agency supplied $250,000 for preliminary studies. The plant, which will provide drinking water for the city of

El Jadida El Jadida (, ; originally known in Berber as Maziɣen or Mazighen; known in Portuguese as Mazagão) is a major port city on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, located 96 km south of the city of Casablanca, in the province of El Jadida and the ...

, has a planned capacity of 200,000 m3/d and was scheduled to be finished in 2012. OCP also has plans for the erection of 4 additional phosphate fertilizer factories, specializing in diammonium and

monoammonium phosphate Ammonium dihydrogen phosphate (ADP), also known as monoammonium phosphate (MAP) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (NH4)(H2PO4). ADP is a major ingredient of agricultural fertilizers and some fire extinguishers. It also has sign ...

. Samsung and Daewoo were awarded the contracts for carrying out the construction of these 4 additional units (2 each) ; http://www.daewooenc.com/eng/contribution/download2012/FutureGrowth_growth.pdf) Since December, 2006 the management of the port has been transferred to Marsa Maroc, a state-owned public company responsible for the management of 9 ports in Morocco and the Western Sahara. Cap Blanc du Nord, the lighthouse at the entrance of the port, is not known to be reliable, with its light occasionally going out.

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is a combat support agency within the United States Department of Defense whose primary mission is collecting, analyzing, and distributing geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) in support of natio ...

.
Prostar Sailing Directions 2005: West Coast of Europe and Northwest Africa
' (2005). ProStar Publications. p. 204. . Google Books. Retrieved on April 7, 2011.

Notes

{{coord, 33.1267, N, 8.62028, W, source:kolossus-frwiki, display=title Port cities and towns on the Moroccan Atlantic Coast Ports and harbours of Morocco