Just recently, the Moroccan government has issued a 375-km Kentira-Marrakech high-speed railway tender. In an information revealed to the Arabian Gulf Business, the Moroccan national rail operator is currently seeking bidders who will be responsible for the seven sections of the high-speed railway, with each section covering a distance of 36km to 64km.
The French engineer known as Egis, is working as its consultant on the railway scheme. Other than the construction works, the job is inclusive of the design, building of the stations, setting up of the signaling systems and also establishment of an equipment maintenance centre that will be located in Marrakech.
The high-speed railway line is part of the plan of $37 billion ONCF masterplan that foresees to connect the cities of Morocco, the ports, and even the airports with 350km/h links. The targets also entails to provide for 80% of the population of Morocco with access to railway transport by the year 2040. Currently, only 50% of the Moroccan population can access rail transport.
Deadline of the Kentira-Marrakech high-speed railway Tender
Interested companies or firms have been given a deadline of 23 June to express their interests in the Kentira-Marrakech high-speed railway project.
After a successful execution of the $2.1 billion high-speed railway project that runs from Tangier to Casablanca, Morocco planned for the extension of the existing railway line to the city of Marrakech and then extend it further to Agadir. The funding of the project would be obtained from a public-private partnership deal.
Morocco sought French help for the construction of the Tangier line and was accorded with $625 million loan from the French side. $80 million was acquired from the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development. It was constructed by the Moroccan contractor Société Générale des Travaux du Maroc who partnered with some French companies that included Alstom, Ansaldo-Ineo group, and a consortium of Colas Rail-Egis.
First High-Speed Rail in Africa
The 320 km/h Tangier-Casablanca railway link, is quite unique as it stands as the first high-speed railway system in Africa. This high-speed railway was completed in Morocco in the year 2018. This project has significantly reduced the time travel between Tangier and Casablanca from 5 hours to a remarkable 2 hours 10 minutes. The line is also the fastest in the North African, Middle East region, being 20km/h speedier than the recently opened link between Mecca, Jeddah and Medina in Saudi Arabia. The high-speed section runs for 186km from Tangier to Kenitra, just north of Rabat. The remaining section to Casablanca has been upgraded to 160km/h, a speed that will later be increased to 220km/h
The high-speed railway line is part of the plan of the National Office of Railways plan of the year 2040 to link a total of 43 cities and towns with a railway network that comprises of 1,300 km oh high-speed rail and another 3,800 kilometers of conventional track.
Also read: Kenya-Uganda SGR Construction Project to Resume
$3 Billion Port Harcourt-Maiduguri Rail Link Project Recommences in Aba, Eastern Nigeria.
$1.8 billion Funding to be Sought by Tanzania Standard Gauge Railway Project Contractor
