Seven years ago in November, in the northern Moroccan port city of Tangier, King Mohammed VI boarded a brand new double decker train with visiting French President Macron. This is the first high-speed railway on the African continent, named Al Boraq, which compressed the journey between Tangier and Casablanca from 5 hours to 2 hours and 10 minutes. Afterwards, high-speed rail became Morocco's most eye-catching national business card and the first itinerary arrangement for many foreign tourists after landing.

Fast forward to September 17th of this year, Rabat. The representative of the Moroccan Minister of Finance in charge of budget affairs and the head of the African Development Bank in Morocco successively signed the document, and the General Manager of the Moroccan National Railway Bureau attended and witnessed it. Two agreements with a total amount of 405 million euros, one for railway tracks and the other for people.

The high-speed rail continues southward

Among them, a loan of 205 million euros will be invested in the Railway Infrastructure Development Support Project (PADIF), with the core task of enhancing the transportation capacity and operational efficiency of the Kenitra Marrakesh railway corridor: on the one hand, extending high-speed railway lines, and on the other hand, strengthening existing railway infrastructure to make this strategic corridor truly operational.

This is not starting from scratch. The Kenitra Marrakesh high-speed railway started construction in April last year. It is the second phase of the Moroccan high-speed railway project, with a new mileage of 430 kilometers and a designed speed of 350 kilometers per hour. It extends southward from Kenitra, connecting the capital Rabat, the largest city Casablanca, and the southern town of Marrakesh, and is also connected to two major airports. The total investment of the project is approximately 96 billion Moroccan dirhams, equivalent to 10.3 billion US dollars, and it is expected to be completed and opened to traffic before the 2030 Men's World Cup. The construction site has already become lively, with several Chinese companies including China Railway Fourth Bureau, China Railway 20th Bureau, Shandong Expressway, Gezhouba Group, and China Overseas Land&Investment Corporation winning the bid for the civil engineering section. China Electric Power Construction Corporation Hydropower Fifth Bureau undertakes the construction of the high-speed railway tunnel that passes through the core area of Rabat.

200 million euros for talent cultivation

Another 200 million euros will be allocated to support the Moroccan Cap Comp é tences 2030 Skills Development Plan, with a focus on improving the quality of vocational training, expanding training coverage, and promoting digitalization of related services. According to non bank statements, the goal of this money is to strengthen human capital construction and promote youth employment.

Road construction and education are actually two sides of the same thing. To run a high-speed railway, a local team that can drive, inspect, and dispatch is needed; The operation of venues and cities requires a large number of skilled workers. Only by improving the coverage and quality of vocational training can we transform the peak employment during the construction period into a stable employment stock in the growth period.

Towards 2030

The African Development Bank stated that both financing options are important measures to support Morocco's long-term development strategy. Since 1970, the bank has invested over 15 billion euros in various fields in Morocco.keywords:Engineering infrastructure

Morocco's plan is very clear: the 2030 Men's World Cup will be jointly hosted by Morocco, Spain, and Portugal, and is expected to attract millions of visitors during the tournament. The high-speed rail network extends southward, and with vocational skills training as a support, Morocco not only needs a faster railway, but also a complete set of national capabilities that can undertake major events and benefit the people in the long run. That flying horse back then is now heading further south.Editor/Yang Meiling