Following the success of the €2.1bn high-speed rail line between Tangier and Casablanca, Morocco is planning to extend the existing line to Marrakech, and then to Agadir.

Mohamed Abdeljalil, the Moroccan transport minister said the finance could come from a public–private partnership deal. According to the France Info website, Morocco may look for French help, as it did with the Tangier–Casablanca line, or it could take up the expressions of interest made by Chinese industrial group Zhongneng Xuanzong Industrial.

The Tangier line was partially funded by a €625m loan from France, along with €80m from the Arab Fund for Economic & Social Development.

It was built by Moroccan contractor Société Générale des Travaux du Maroc along with a number of French companies including Alstom, the Ansaldo-Ineo group, and a Colas Rail–Egis Rail consortium.