China Railway Number 4 Engineering Group (CREC 4) has been chosen to carry out civil engineering works on Morocco’s high-speed rail line between the port of Kenitra, 30km north of Rabat, and the city of Marrakech.

The company, which is a subsidiary of China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation, put in the lowest bid for the package, offering to complete it for €314m. It beat seven other shortlisted companies, of which the two closest in price were China Railways 20th Bureau and China Overseas Engineering, who both estimated the job at €360m. The contract will be mainly concerned with earthworks along a 64km stretch of track, but there will be auxiliary elements, such as installing fencing and telecom cables.

The 430km line is being built by the Moroccan National Office of Railways (ONCF) and project managed by French engineers Egis and Systra, as well as Morocco’s Novec (see further reading). As well as laying track, the project will refurbish the stations along the route, which includes the urban centres of Rabat, Salé and Casablanca. There will also be two terminal stations and a maintenance workshop. When complete, in time for the 2030 World Cup finals, the line will allow trains to run at 320km/h.