Morocco’s public rail operator, ONCF, is seeking $8.8 billion in funding from investors for its high-speed train network expansion plan in Morocco.
Indeed, Morocco plans to extend its high-speed train network to Marrakech before the 2030 World Cup, and further south to Agadir. According to ONCF estimates, nearly 100 billion dirhams (around 10.2 billion USD) are needed to build the high-speed network.
On Friday, the director of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina, declared that “investors were ready to grant ONCF more than the required amount, with financing offers amounting to more than 13 billion dollars.”
According to media sources, the operator also aims to expand its network to reach 87% of the Moroccan population, by 2040. According to recent statements from Moroccan authorities, the ONCF plans the construction of 1,300 km of high-speed lines (LGV) and 3,800 km of additional conventional lines, to connect 43 cities compared to 23 currently.
Note that “the overall plan also includes the connection of Morocco’s production centers to 6 other ports, to allow faster evacuation of agricultural, pastoral and mining products” report local media.
The choice of Frenchman Alstom
Last October, the French press reported that the French manufacturer, Alstom, was chosen by Morocco to deliver Avelia Horizon trainsets (the same platform as the SNCF TGV M) for the Tangier-Marrakech line. . It is a contract which would have been negotiated during Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Rabat last October.
The same source indicated that the French industrialist “was chosen to supply high-speed trains to the ONCF”, No details were however filtered. And for good reason, the final contract has not yet been signed. “Alstom is delighted to have been selected as the preferred bidder by the ONCF for the high-speed train tender. As the tender process is still ongoing, we cannot provide further comments at this time,” the industrialist confirmed.
China has also been in ambush for this project through the Chinese public group Zhong Neng Xuan Zong Industrial which has already expressed its interest in participating in the construction of the Marrakech-Agadir LGV. But the diplomatic rapprochement between France and Morocco, as well as the long presence of Alstom in the country, would have played a key role.
As a reminder, France had financially participated up to 51% in the construction of the country’s first high-speed line (inaugurated in 2018 at a cost of 2 billion euros) which goes from Tangier to Casablanca through various loans .
