Morocco Secures €200m AfDB Funding for High-Speed Rail Expansion

The African Development Bank (AfDB), has approved €205 million in financing for Morocco to support the implementation of the Rail Infrastructure Development Support Project (PADIF), accelerating the expansion of the country’s high-speed rail network while strengthening the capacity of one of its busiest transport corridors.

Approved by the Bank’s Board of Directors on 8 July, the project focuses on the Kenitra–Marrakech railway corridor, a critical route that carries a substantial share of Morocco’s passenger and freight traffic. The investment will fund the extension of the high-speed rail (HSR) line while modernising the existing conventional railway infrastructure along the corridor.

The project is designed to improve passenger and freight movement between Morocco’s key economic and urban centres, supporting more sustainable mobility while enhancing territorial connectivity across the Kingdom. The expanded high-speed rail infrastructure is expected to reduce travel times, lower logistics costs and encourage greater use of environmentally sustainable transport, delivering long-term economic and environmental benefits.

Achraf Tarsim, Head of AfDB’s Country Office in Morocco, said: “By combining the extension of the high-speed rail line with the modernisation of existing infrastructure, this operation will help accommodate growing passenger and freight traffic, facilitate trade flows, and reduce travel times. In the long term, it will strengthen Morocco’s logistics competitiveness and reinforce its role as a strategic hub linking Europe and Africa.”

The PADIF project includes the acquisition of equipment to modernise railway infrastructure along the Kenitra – Marrakech corridor and around the Casablanca rail hub. The investment covers the supply of new rails and track components for both the conventional railway network and the high-speed rail system, increasing network capacity and improving operational performance across the corridor.

The programme also includes project management support covering project ownership, engineering supervision, and the monitoring and evaluation of project results and impacts to ensure effective implementation.

The investment aligns with the AfDB’s Four Cardinal Points strategy and the institution’s 2024 – 2029 Country Strategy Paper for Morocco. It also supports Morocco’s New Development Model and the Rail 2040 Plan, which seeks to modernise and expand the country’s national railway network.

The AfDB has been a long-standing development partner to Morocco since 1978. Over that period, it has mobilised nearly €15 billion to finance more than 150 projects and programmes across strategic sectors including transport, energy, agriculture, water and sanitation, governance, social protection and financial services.