ONCF (Office National des Chemins de Fer), the national railway operator of Morocco, announced on Wednesday it has awarded contracts to South Korean, Spanish and French companies for procuring up to 168 new trains as part of the country’s transport infrastructure expansion ahead of the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which it will co-host with Spain and Portugal.

The contracts, worth an estimated 29 billion dirhams ($2.9 billion)  were awarded after a year-long international competition and include agreements with Hyundai Rotem (South Korea), CAF (Spain), and Alstom (France and Morocco).

Hyundai Rotem won a contract worth 2.2 trillion South Korean won ($1.5 billion) to supply 110 double-decker Regional Rapid Transit (RER) trains, local English language news paper The Chosun Daily reported on Wednesday. The report said these trains will operate at speeds of up to 160 kilometres per hour(km/h).

Spain’s CAF was awarded a contract worth €600 million ($624 million) to supply an initial batch of 30 intercity trains, with an option for 10 additional units. The company said in a press statement that the agreement also includes an option for ONCF to procure technical assistance and spare parts supply services in the future. These trains will be able to operate at a speed of 200 km/h and have a high transport capacity, with more than 500 seats, the statement said, adding that Spanish government's FIEM (Business Internationalisation Fund) is financing the contract.

A consortium of France’s Alstom and Alstom Railways Maroc was awarded a contract to supply 18 high-speed trains for the Kenitra to Marrakech high-speed rail line but the value wasn’t disclosed. An initial agreement was inked in October 2024 as part of €10 billion worth of deals between France and Morocco during the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to the country. Under the agreement, Alstom would deliver 12 high-speed trains with an option for 6 additional units.

ONCF said in a statement that the contracts include commitments to develop railway industry in Morocco and long-term maintenance.

Meanwhile, ONCF is yet to announce results for the 200 kilometres per hour semi-high-speed trains, the South Korean newspaper The Chosun Daily said.

(Writing by Majda Muhsen; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com) 

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