By establishing the Free Zone of Nouadhibou, the law 2013-001 of January 2, 2013 makes a major innovation with respect to the concept of free zones. Nouadhibou Free Zone is not an isolated quarter of the local environment, but a priority economic zone efficiently evolving into the socio-economic and environmental context of the region. Nouadhibou Free Zone is smoothly functioning in harmony with this context.
Development areas designated especially for commercial or industrial activities as well as for seaport or airport services, or for support functions such as (housing, tourism, retail, leisure and offices) will be created within the free zone.

The Free Zone includes all the conglomeration of Nouadhibou and part of the peninsula and the bay of the same name, the adjacent oceanic domain and its scope of those development zones, all coastal and territorial waters up to 2 nautical miles offshore.
The main strategic goal targeted by the Free Zone is to make Mauritania, and Nouadhibou, in particular, an outstanding preferred destination for international investors and for domestic operators.

In this viewpoint, the mission of Nouadhibou Free Zone is to work towards the achievement of the following objectives :

  • Attract investment and encourage private sector development;
  • Develop the infrastructure in the area;
  • Promote the development of Nouadhibou into a competition magnet and a world-class business regional hub;
  • Create new jobs and improve the professional skills of domestic workers;
  • Stimulate and drive up social and economic development of Mauritania as a whole.