Alstom increase investment in the Moroccan rail industry

Credit: Alstom

Alstom is driving the expansion of the rail industry in Morocco by investing 160 million dirhams to construct a second rail plant, which will make driving cabs for regional and underground railway trains. This latest investment will create 200 direct jobs between now and 2025.

In 2020, Alstom Morocco announced the expansion of its plant in Fez, and in 2021, the construction of a second production line. The Fez site produces electrical wiring and Mitrac transformers and employs 850 people, of whom 56% are women. This second plant will make driving cabs and is fully in keeping with the Group’s commitment to develop the Moroccan rail ecosystem and build local rail expertise.

“We are extremely proud to be building a new industrial site,” Mehdi Sahel, Managing Director of Alstom Morocco, said. “This is a prime example of our strategy to design and develop a local ecosystem. I would like to thank all the teams for the remarkable job they have done over the last few months to make these projects a reality.”

Alstom Maroc has invested 320 million dirhams since 2019 to grow its industrial operations, resulting in the delivery of 25 international projects; a total of 1,200 jobs will be created in the rail sector by 2025.

“We are once again demonstrating our commitment to building a rail industrial base in Morocco; the Alstom Group has now decided to take its investments in Morocco a step further by creating a second site in Fez, to manufacture cabs for regional and underground railway trains,” Mama Sougoufara, Managing Director of Alstom MENAT (Middle East, Northern Africa and Turkey), said. “Thanks to the transfer of unique technology from our international sites we will be able to create a Moroccan rail centre with world-class expertise. We are an established local player and we have confidence in the future of Morocco.”

With some 950 employees in Morocco, Alstom has been responsible for several major projects in the country, including the installation of signalling and the delivery of 190 Citadis X02 trams to the cities of Rabat (66 trams) and Casablanca (124 trams), 12 Avelia Euroduplex trains for the high-speed rail link between Tangier and Casablanca, and 77 Prima locomotives providing optimised solutions for freight, passenger and combined transport services.