Alstom beats Talgo on the High Speed Line between Kenitra and Marrakech
Morocco's railway infrastructure is growing significantly. It is a very attractive sector for investment and business due to its potential. One of the attractive points in this field is the High Speed Line between Kenitra and Marrakech. The competition to win the last contract for the supply of trains for this section included several contenders and, in the end, the French company Alstom has won this important contract over other contenders, including the Spanish railway company Talgo.
The French company Alstom will finally provide the Moroccan high-speed trains for the section between Kenitra and Marrakech, which covers a distance of 380 kilometres from the north to the centre of the Moroccan kingdom.
In this sense, Morocco has decided that the French company is the ‘preferred proposal’ to provide 18 Avelia Horizon trains to the Moroccan National Railway Office (ONCF). ‘This double-decker model has tipped the balance in favour of Alstom, as the models proposed by CAF, Talgo and Hyundai Rotem are single-decker trains,’ an ONCF source was quoted as saying by Moroccan media outlet Hespress.
‘Alstom is delighted to have been chosen as the ONCF's preferred option for the high-speed train,’ sources from the French company were quoted as saying by BFMTV. ‘The new generation Avelia Horizon trains have the most competitive cost per seat and lifecycle in the market today and significantly improve the passenger experience,’ they added.
France is expected to provide part of the funding for the project, as it did for the construction of Morocco's first High Speed Line between Tangier and Casablanca. In that case, the French state put up 51% of the 2 billion euros cost of the project, inaugurated in 2018.
Avelia Horizon is the only double-decker train in the world that runs at more than 300 km/h, offers great operational flexibility and ensures the highest levels of safety and passenger experience, while reducing energy consumption and maintenance costs, according to Alstom itself.
The contract between the ONCF and Alstom has not yet been initialled because it has to wait for the other candidates to be able to appeal against the tender within the deadline. Once the deadline has passed, the contract will be formally signed if there are no obstacles.
New diplomatic relations between France and Morocco
The contract won by France is worth 10 billion euros and is part of one of the 22 state agreements signed during the recent meeting between Emmanuel Macron, the French President, and the King of Morocco, Mohammed VI.
Mohammed Rabie Khlie, CEO of ONCF, and Henri Poupart-Lafarge, CEO of Alstom, were the protagonists of the signing in the high-speed rail sector.
The Alawite monarch invited Emmanuel Macron to Rabat for a three-day official visit, which was the result of the new excellent diplomatic relations between the two countries. A satisfactory situation stemming from the French decision to recognise the North African country's proposal for Western Sahara as the most serious and credible way to resolve the Sahrawi dispute. Emmanuel Macron himself delivered an important speech to the Moroccan Parliament on the second day of his state visit in which he reaffirmed France's support for Morocco's sovereignty over Western Sahara.
The French president once again pointed out to the Moroccan parliamentarians that the present and future of Western Sahara are part of Morocco's sovereignty over the Saharawi zone, considered by the North African country as part of its southern provinces.
This is a further boost to Moroccan infrastructure. Morocco is developing its connections to the maximum in various areas such as rail, air and road transport with a view to the next football World Cup in 2030, to be co-hosted by the Moroccan kingdom together with Spain and Portugal. A very important event for which it is necessary to have an extensive transport network and a significant capacity to receive visitors.
Morocco's investment framework
Morocco has set up a major programme to encourage economic investment in the country, both from Morocco and abroad.
Under the plan promoted by King Mohammed VI, aimed at modernising the country in all areas since he came to the throne in 1999, it was planned, among other things, to establish a New Investment Charter that provides a significant amount of money to develop various national sectors, through attractive contracts for companies or investors, as well as incentives, legal guarantees and tax breaks for any investor interested in taking advantage of contracts to develop business in Moroccan territory.
The North African country's New Investment Charter has a defined strategy until 2026. Among its strong points are the improvement of the legal business framework, the strengthening of coordination and supervision of the business environment and the optimisation, digitalisation and decentralisation of administrative procedures.