France Aims to Secure Morocco High-Speed Rail Contract Amid Diplomatic Thaw

France is counting on the economic recovery to ease the diplomatic chill between Rabat and Paris. Recently, the Quai d’Orsay has authorized French development financial institutions such as "Proparco", a subsidiary of the French Development Agency dedicated to the private sector, or the public investment bank "Bpifrance" to finance projects in the Moroccan Sahara. On Friday, Bruno Le Maire, the French Minister of Economy and Finance, stated that the French government was ready to participate in the financing of a 3 gigawatt electrical cable connecting Casablanca to Dakhla. "You will produce energy in the Dakhla region, you will need it in the great metropolis of Casablanca, you need to build electrical networks to transport this energy. I can confirm to you that we are ready to participate in the financing of this infrastructure," he said during a Morocco-France business forum in Rabat. During a visit to Casablanca in early April, Franck Riester, the French Minister of Foreign Trade, had stated that Proparco could contribute to the financing of a high-voltage line between Dakhla and Casablanca.

In doing so, Paris is trying to catch up on the competition around the tender launched by the National Railway Office (ONCF) for the project to extend the high-speed rail line connecting Kénitra to Marrakech. It will not be overtaken for long by Spain and Germany in this market. "In Morocco today, there is a concern for efficiency that arises on the eve of the 2030 World Cup. According to my sources, Morocco plans to launch the first Kenitra-Marrakech line in September 2029. [...] Having done the first part of the project with the manufacturer Alstom, it would be a bit complex from an operational and maintenance angle to change manufacturer for the second part. There is therefore an issue of technical continuity," analyzes Michel Vialatte, public policy consultant at Challenge. Economist Ahmed Azirar agrees: "France has comparative advantages on the TGV file. It would be complicated to change technology."

Designed for a maximum speed of 350 km/h, the Kénitra-Marrakech line will be operated at 320 km/h, over a route of about 450 km. It is planned to connect Tangier directly to Marrakech without going through Casablanca. Two routes have been proposed for the train’s arrival in Casablanca. It is also planned that the high-speed rail line will pass through an alternative route in Benslimane (the stadium) towards Nouaceur. This will host the establishment of a new station or distribution center. The Kénitra-Marrakech TGV project aims to revolutionize travel between the two cities. It is an integral part of the ONCF’s colossal plan to interconnect the cities, ports and airports of Morocco via high-speed rail links operating at speeds of up to 350 kilometers per hour. Its cost is estimated at over 50 billion dirhams. Last week, the National Railway Office (ONCF) launched a tender for the supply of track equipment for this major project.