The Rail & Mobility Forum, organised by Économie Entreprises Live, has highlighted, in its second edition, the role of Morocco as a key player in modern mobility in Africa.

The Rail & Mobility Forum, which took place on Friday 21st February in Rabat, brought together experts, politicians and industry leaders from the transport and logistics sector with the aim of exploring solutions capable of supporting the development of modern, sustainable and interconnected mobility and consolidating Morocco's role as a key player in modern mobility in Africa. 

Given the improvements in speed as the basis for economic transformation, Morocco is firmly committed to rapid transport projects, following the success of the first Tangier-Kenitra High Speed Line, in service since 2018. However, this physical speed must be accompanied by economic speed, which requires a social and territorial impact. 

In its Rail Morocco 2040 Plan, the country not only aims to modernise the transport and logistics sector in the 12 regions into which its territory is divided but also aspires to position itself as the African leader in modern mobility and to export its experience and knowledge to its African neighbours.

Local Social and Territorial Challenges

Zakaria Firano, economist and research professor at the University Mohammed V, explained that Morocco has been slow to exploit the railway sector, given that 80% of goods transport is by sea, adding that ’ Morocco realised the crucial importance of this market and began to invest massively in its development, not only as a driver for the progress of the country's economy, but also as a social contract whose socioeconomic effects are essential for the construction of a strong welfare state’.

Firano explained how the rate of economic growth at a national level in Morocco has not yet been able to exceed 3.2 or 3.3%, due to two main factors: the saturation of the territorial axis from El Jadida to Tangier and the lack of deconcentration of economic activities, marginalising almost half of the national territory, which is full of opportunities for economic growth. 

‘Morocco has to open up to the southern provinces starting from Agadir in order to invest in these regions that will bring economic progress in the future and become a land of opportunity for investors, because it generates added value, wealth and jobs through the various sectors of economic activity,’ added the university professor. 

Morocco enjoys a strategic position and great potential for investment in the railway sector in Africa. ‘If we want to live up to Moroccan ambitions, between now and 2030 we have to invest in the southern regions, as has begun to happen thanks to the strategic vision of King Mohammed VI, to develop the three southern regions of Morocco through colossal projects such as the Atlantic port of Dakhla,’ said Firano.

According to Zakaria Firano, Morocco is exercising its ‘soft power’ to convince foreign investors thanks to the country's economic strength. However, the major obstacle to Morocco's exports is logistics, as we lack a logistics and value chain in Africa. For this reason, the Kingdom must develop this sector in order to benefit from economic activities in the African Continental Free Trade Area. 

‘Made in Morocco' is very important in terms of technology and industry in the railway sector, but the country has to work on developing its skills and resources in order to successfully launch itself into African markets’, emphasised the Moroccan economist. 

Finally, the professor at the University Mohammed V in Rabat emphasised the problem of the lack of international arbitration in the area of public-private partnerships in Morocco. ‘We need to rethink and review this type of partnership in Morocco, which relies on a private sector that does not exceed 20% of the funding,’ he added.

‘Made in Morocco’ in the Railway Sector

Kenza Abderrazik, general manager of Morocco TraIndustry, explained that ‘connecting Tangier and La Güera is not a dream, but rather represents the Moroccan objective in the railway sector, in accordance with the royal guidelines, which seek to see all of Morocco united and very well interconnected’. 

Abderrazik recalled the major projects launched by King Mohammed VI in the royal speeches of 2015 and 2019, on the occasion of the anniversary of the Green March. The monarch said: ‘We lack a line from Tangier to La Güera to connect Morocco to the rest of Africa. We are calling for serious reflection on the establishment of a rail link between Marrakech and Agadir with a view to extending it to the rest of the southern provinces’. 

Taking into account that the railway sector is an unprecedented catalyst and ‘environmentally friendly’, Kenza Abderrazik argued that ‘it is the ideal time to take advantage of the development of public rail transport in the investment cycle to create a national railway ecosystem’. 

Within the framework of the strategic project Made in Morocco 2030, promoted by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Morocco TraIndustry (MTI) Cluster was created as a proactive initiative by the Moroccan national railway operator, ONCF, to promote the project of developing a strong railway ecosystem in the country. 

This association, created in 2021, aims to stimulate innovative projects; encourage actors in the sector; promote research, development, synergies and the dynamics of progress. 

The objective that the MTI Cluster aims to achieve in Morocco by 2030 is the creation of more than 10,000 jobs; the realisation of industrial implementation projects; the support of more than 10 start-ups; and the realisation of more than 20 collaborative projects. 

The Cluster also aspires, in line with the ‘Made in Morocco’ plan, for the railway industry to be able to export the necessary infrastructure, given that Morocco today has all the potential to position itself in the coming years as a major player in the African railway industry.

Speed Economy for the 2030 World Cup

Like many emerging economies, the Moroccan economy has become, since the launch of the first high-speed rail line, a speed economy. Taking into account the growing importance of the time factor in modern society and the modern economy, there are numerous transport projects that today place speed at the centre of public mobility policies.

From the tram to the fluid network of buses, not forgetting the new high-speed line that will connect the major cities of Morocco in time for the 2030 World Cup, these are projects that represent true maturity in terms of urban mobility. With its ambitious programme, called ‘Morocco Rail Plan 2040’, the country aims to build almost 1,500 kilometres of high-speed railway lines. 

In this sense, the ONCF plans to develop its offer, with the acquisition of 168 trains, 18 of them high-speed, and a budget of almost 4.5 billion dirhams. It also plans to deploy another 40 trains for interurban transport on the Fez-Marrakech and Kenitra-Fez lines, at a cost of 3.8 billion dirhams. 

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