LogisT-Africa – The Kingdom of Morocco plans to launch a second high-speed railway network project following the inauguration in 2018 of the first one connecting Tangier to Casablanca. This new high-speed line, stretching from Marrakech in the central-south to Agadir on the Atlantic coast, will also include three stations at Sidi Zouine, Chichaoua, and Agadir.
Estimated at around 50 billion dirhams, the construction of this 230 km-long railway infrastructure has been entrusted to the Chinese group China Railway Design Corporation (CRDC), a subsidiary of the China State Railway Group, a Chinese state-owned company specializing in railways. It will reduce the travel time between the two cities to just one hour and twenty minutes.
It’s worth noting that this project is part of the comprehensive plan of the National Office of Railways (ONCF), which aims to “strengthen territorial cohesion between the North and South of the country, open up the Saharan regions, and stimulate the economy and tourism,” according to the authorities.
The implementation of this plan will facilitate the connection of 43 Moroccan cities, compared to the current 23, while increasing the national coverage rate of railway transport services to 87%, against the current 51%.
