Morocco will receive a MAD 1.6 billion (USD 160 million) loan from the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD) to renovate the Rabat-Ville and Rabat-Agdal train stations in order to make the transit centers compatible with the Morocco’s new high-speed trains.
ONCF, which is the national rail transport company, the Ministry of the Economy and the Arab development fund signed contracts confirming the loan. The capital comes with a 2.5 percent interest rate over 25 years
The fund’s current budget allocates 1.5 billion Kuwaiti dinars (USD 5 billion) to finance development initiatives in Morocco. In 2012, the AFESD contributed MAD 864 million (EUR 80 million) to construct the Tangier-Casablanca high-speed line.
The Islamic Development Bank signed an agreement, in November 2016, worth MAD 980 million (USD 98 million) with the Ministry of the Economy and ONCF to fund the renovation of the Casa Voyageurs, Kenitra and Tangier train stations in order to prepare for the new high speed trains.
Once the Tangier-Casablanca line is fully complete, passengers will be able to travel between the two cities in 2h-10min – less than half of the 4h-45min currently commute.
The total cost of the entire Tangier-Casablanca line is estimated at MAD 20 billion (USD 2 billion).
Share on:
