Abu Dhabi Fund for Development loans Dh147m to Morocco for high-speed rail link

ABU DHABI // Abu Dhabi Fund for Development has agreed to loan Dh147 million to the Moroccan national rail operator to build a high-speed railway between Tangier and Kenitra.

The fund has signed a concessionary loan agreement worth the amount with the Office Nationale des Chemins de Fer du Maroc (ONCFM) to finance the construction.

The loan follows ADFD’s first instalment of Dh368m released in 2010 and the latest instalment will be used to finance the launch of a 200km long, 320kph high-speed railway that will connect both cities by 2018.

The agreement was signed in Morocco between Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi, director general of ADFD, and Mohamed Rabie Khlie, chief executive of ONCFM, in the presence of Mohamed Boussaid, the Moroccan Minister of Economy and Finance.

Mr Al Suwaidi said the agreement was to support developing nations in the region. “Our devotion is steadfast, our support is unwavering and we will continue to meticulously fund and invest in socio-economic development projects to alleviate living standards across the board.”

ADFD has so far funded 71 development projects in Morocco, 12 of which targeted the transportation sector. The entirety of the Tangier-Kenitra high-speed train project amounts to Dh515m, bringing ADFD’s current sum expenditure in Morocco to Dh8.8b.