A major slice of that investment—$1.6 billion—will go to South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem, which won a contract to supply 110 electric trains, the company’s largest deal to date. [Getty]
With the clock ticking toward the 2030 World Cup, Morocco is pouring billions of dollars into its railway network to transform travel across the country before the tournament it’s co-hosting with Spain and Portugal kicks off.
The state-owned railway operator, ONCF, has sealed deals amounting to $2.9 billion for 168 new trains, bolstering both high-speed and regional services.
A major slice of that investment—$1.6 billion—will go to South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem, which won a contract to supply 110 electric trains, the company’s largest deal to date.
The double-decker trains will link Casablanca, Morocco‘s economic hub, to key regions, while part of the production will take place domestically, a move Hyundai Rotem says will help develop the Moroccan railway industry.
The company, alongside Korea’s state-run Korail, will also oversee maintenance through separate negotiations with Moroccan authorities.
The contract is expected to provide a boost for smaller Korean manufacturers, as 90 percent of the trains’ components will be sourced from South Korea’s small and medium-sized firms.
Hyundai Rotem plans to roll out the first units by 2029.
“We will do our best to supply high-quality trains for both Moroccan citizens and visitors to the 100th World Cup,” a company official said.
Morocco has also turned to European suppliers to modernise its network.
ONCF announced on Wednesday a separate deal with France’s Alstom and Spain’s CAF for 18 high-speed and 40 intercity trains.
By 2040, Morocco aims to link 43 cities by rail, up from 23 today, reaching 87 percent of the population.
Rabat is also planning a high-speed underwater rail tunnel connecting Spain and Morocco. Both countries hope it will be ready in time to facilitate transportation during the tournament.
Besides rail development, Morocco’s rapid push for infrastructure upgrades ahead of the World Cup has not come without controversy.
Authorities have intensified efforts to clear public spaces, displacing street vendors and informal businesses, and demolishing buildings deemed constructed on public domain, in operations that critics say are linked to World Cup preparations.
Officials have refrained from commenting, but reports in local media suggest the clean-up is mostly concentrated in host cities.
As it co-hosts the World Cup for the first time, Rabat is betting big on infrastructure upgrade and the country’s cultural identity to prove it can handle—and entertain—the influx of fans, and position itself as a regional leader in North Africa and beyond.
Whether the projects will be completed in time, and at what social cost, remains to be seen.
