Morocco in North Africa has launched a new round of rail procurement bidding to improve its high-speed railway network. The high budget has attracted steel companies from four countries to compete for quotes, and Chinese companies have once again participated in the bidding, relying on their previous African export performance to participate in international competition and inject diversified choices into the African high-speed railway supply chain.

Tender Competition Details

The Moroccan National Railway Authority has opened a bidding process for the procurement of rails for the Gonitra to Marrakesh high-speed railway, with a project budget of 151 million dirhams, equivalent to 16.22 million US dollars. Six international companies participated in the bidding process, and four entered the financial evaluation stage. The overall quotation ranges from 180 million to 212 million dirhams, exceeding the initial budget.

The four shortlisted companies are JSW Steel from Italy, Jindal Steel from India, China Railway Materials Hong Kong and Macau Company, Saarstahl Rails SAS from Germany, and two Chinese companies have been disqualified from pre qualification. CRMG Hong Kong&Macau won the rail order for this line in April 2025, with a total amount of 370 million yuan. In November of the same year, they completed the shipment of 13000 tons of rails, achieving the first landing of Chinese high-speed rail rails in Africa. JSW Steel, a wholly-owned subsidiary of an Indian company, also won a supply contract worth 653 million dirhams in December 2024.

The long-term value of the project

This high-speed railway line has a total length of 430 kilometers, a design speed of 350 kilometers per hour, and an operating speed of 320 kilometers per hour. It is the core transportation project supporting Morocco's 2030 World Cup. Several Chinese companies have won sub contracts and it is planned to be officially opened by the end of 2029. Keywords: Morocco high-speed rail bidding, China rail going global

After the completion of the line, it will connect the core cities of Morocco in the north and south, significantly shorten the intercity travel time, drive the circulation of commerce and personnel along the line, accelerate the process of regional economic integration in North Africa, and also build an important bridge for China's high-end rail transit equipment to continue to deeply cultivate the African market.Editor/Min Jing