Germany Enters Race for Morocco’s Casablanca-Agadir High-Speed Rail Project

The German public company Deutsch Bahn has expressed its interest in this major rail project, after France and China, reports the daily Al Ahdath Al Maghribia, specifying that the German company signed on Tuesday a partnership agreement with the National Railway Office (ONCF), in the presence of the Moroccan Minister of Transport and Logistics, Mohamed Abdeljalil, and the German Federal Minister of Digital Affairs and Transport, Volker Wissing. According to official sources, this partnership aims to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in several areas related to the rail transport sector.

Concretely, this agreement aims to renew and upgrade the Moroccan rail infrastructure, which involves the construction of new lines for urban, regional and long-distance transport, including high-speed rail transport, and the promotion of a sustainable shift to rail in order to reduce CO₂ emissions. The agreement also takes into account the development of the network, the availability and reliability of rolling stock, digitization and digital transformation, the enhancement of heritage in and out of stations, and the improvement of the management system.

This partnership between Morocco and Germany is not good news for France, which insists on carrying out the Casablanca-Agadir LGV, after the one connecting Tangier to Casablanca. A few months ago, Agadir entrusted the management of urban transport to a German operator, much to the chagrin of France. France is also not pleased with China’s interest in this project. The Chinese ambassador to Rabat assures that his country has the necessary capacities and expertise to carry out the Casablanca-Agadir LGV. The final decision rests with the Moroccan authorities.