Morocco Gets $112.3 Million Loan from AfDB

Morocco’s railway authority received Wednesday a $112.3 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) earmarked for doubling train tracks on the Settat-Marrakech route.

The new deal signed in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, will enable Morocco’s National Railway Authority (ONCF) to double train tracks on the 142 km-long Settat-Marrakech route; a project which will help boost activities and yield enormous returns.

Reports say the project will end in 2020 and will necessitate $400 million.

According to the AfDB, the project will shorten the trip time between Casablanca and Marrakech to 40 minutes instead of 3 hours. It will also increase traffic and number of travelers by 2020 to 7.4 million per year compared to 4.5 million over the 2014-2015 period.

The project also provides for an increase in the number of cargo trains and goods shipping between the two major cities. The number of cargo trains will move from 5 to 12 per day and therefore increase freight from 207,000 tons to 504,000 tons.

“The quality of the railway transport is an attractive element for economic stakeholders. The promotion of the railway meets the will of the bank to invest on effective, sustainable and environment-friendly modes of transports,” said Amadou Oumarou, Director of Transports and NTIC at AfDB.

In 2010, ONCF received around $396 million from AfDB for the construction of a third 148 km-long Casablanca-Rabat-Kénitra lane.