Africa’s richest monarch names a $1 billion highway designed to connect Europe and West Africa after Trump

Estimated to have cost around $1 billion, the highway is central to Morocco’s ambition of becoming a major trade and logistics gateway linking Europe with West Africa through the Atlantic corridor.

Trump recently thanked King Mohammed VI after Morocco announced that the expressway would bear his name, a move widely seen as recognition of his 2020 decision to recognise Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara—a disputed territory through which much of the highway passes.

The $1 billion, 1,055-km Tiznit–Dakhla Expressway has been completed and is operational, serving as Morocco’s flagship road corridor linking the country with Mauritania and the wider West African region

Stretching from Tiznit in southern Morocco to Dakhla, the highway passes through Guelmim, Tan-Tan and Laayoune, dramatically improving road connectivity to Morocco’s southern provinces while strengthening access to Mauritania and the wider West African market.

The highway is one of Morocco’s most strategic infrastructure investments in recent years.

Beyond easing domestic transport, it is expected to reduce freight costs, improve road safety and cut travel times for goods moving between Europe, Morocco and West Africa. It also forms a critical link to the planned Dakhla Atlantic Port, a multibillion-dollar deep-water port that Rabat hopes will become one of Africa’s leading logistics hubs.

Together, the expressway and port are designed to support Morocco’s broader strategy of positioning itself as a commercial bridge between European markets and fast-growing African economies.

The project also complements Morocco’s Atlantic Initiative, which seeks to improve access to global markets for landlocked Sahel countries by providing alternative trade routes through Morocco’s Atlantic coastline.

For businesses, the improved corridor could facilitate exports of agricultural products, fisheries, manufactured goods and minerals while attracting investment into logistics, tourism and industrial development across southern Morocco.

The highway’s location also gives it significant geopolitical importance. Much of the route traverses Western Sahara, a territory claimed by both Morocco and the Algeria-backed Polisario Front.

By investing heavily in infrastructure across the region, Morocco continues to reinforce its economic integration with the territory while advancing its long-standing sovereignty claim.

The naming of the highway after Trump highlights the enduring significance Morocco places on the U.S. recognition of its position on Western Sahara.

At the same time, the infrastructure itself signals a broader ambition: transforming Morocco from a North African economy into a continental trade gateway connecting Europe, Morocco and West Africa through one of Africa’s most important emerging transport corridors.