Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Mohamed Elkorri
Published on 2024-03-04 18:14:00
The Spanish Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, expressed to his Moroccan counterpart, Mohamed Abdeljalil, on Monday, Spain’s interest in the expansion project of the high-speed rail network.
As Morocco plans to extend the TGV to Marrakech and Agadir, the Spanish minister emphasized Spain’s readiness to participate in railway infrastructure projects, highlighting the advantages offered by Spanish companies that are capable of providing a product of good quality at a reasonable price.
“Morocco is developing its network as part of a project in which Spain aspires to play a significant role. We are a leading country in railways, our high-speed train is very important as we are the world’s first country in terms of high-speed connectivity by population and second in terms of kilometers covered after China,” said Mr. Puente, noting that Morocco is the first African country to launch the TGV and plans to expand its network to Agadir.
Morocco will carry out this project through a tender launched in November 2023 by the Moroccan public railway operator (ONCF) for the construction of 168 trains, with a total cost of 16 billion dirhams (1.4 billion euros), for which the Spanish company Talgo is a candidate. Among these trains, the offer includes about twenty high-speed trains for the extension of the current line to Marrakech over more than 400 kilometers.
When asked about Spain’s options in this project, the minister stated that he had “great confidence” in Spanish companies and products. “We are neighboring countries, and we believe that Spain can play a very important role in this field,” he said.
Oscar Puente will also meet with the Minister of Equipment and Water, Nizar Baraka, before visiting the Moroccan headquarters of the Spanish company Alsa, present in Morocco for thirty years and managing bus transportation in important cities such as Casablanca and Rabat.
Read the original article(French) on L’Opinion
