Morocco: €405 million in loans for high-speed rail and vocational training

Morocco and the African Development Bank signed two loan agreements totaling €405 million on Thursday, September 17, in Rabat, including €205 million for the rail infrastructure of the Kenitra-Marrakech corridor and €200 million for vocational training.

The rail loan will finance the Railway Infrastructure Development Support Project. This initiative aims to enhance the capacity and performance of the Kenitra-Marrakech axis by extending the high-speed line and modernizing existing infrastructure.

The remaining €200 million is allocated to the Cap Compétences 2030 program. This initiative is designed to diversify vocational training offerings, digitize services, develop apprenticeships, and improve mechanisms for labor market integration, with a particular focus on youth and women.

The two agreements were signed by Fouzi Lekjaa, Minister Delegate in Charge of the Budget, and Achraf Tarsim, Country Manager of the African Development Bank in Morocco. The Minister of Economic Inclusion, Small Business, Employment, and Skills, Younes Sekkouri, along with the Director General of the National Office of Railways, Mohamed Rabie Khlie, attended the ceremony.

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank approved the funding for Cap Compétences 2030 on May 21, followed by the approval of the rail project on July 8. The signing on September 17 formalizes these two approvals into loan agreements between the institution and the Kingdom.

The African Development Bank reports that it has mobilized over €15 billion in Morocco since 1978 across more than 150 projects, covering sectors such as transport, employment, water, agriculture, energy, and human development.