The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) approved a loan of USD 112.3 million to Morocco for the improvement of infrastructure on the Tangier-Casablanca-Marrakech railway route.
Allocated to the Moroccan National Railways Office (ONCF), the funds will be used to dual the line linking the cities of Settat and Marrakech. The doubling of this 142-km stretch will generate time savings and allow increased passenger and freight traffic between Casablanca, the economic capital of the Kingdom, and Marrakech, its main tourist centre.
The annual passenger volume could, thus, increase from the current 4.5 million to more than 7.4 million in 2020, when works are due to be completed. Freight volumes could more than double.
In 2010, AfDB made a USD 396 million loan to modernize other sections of the Tangier-Casablanca-Marrakech line, a project which is currently being completed.
“The quality of rail transport is a pull factor for economic actors. The promotion of rail is in line with the Bank’s desire to invest in modes of transport that are effective, sustainable and low CO2 emitters,” said Amadou Oumarou, Director of the Transport and ICT Department at the AfDB.
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