2023-11-19 11:15:28
The global railway giants are on the offensive on the mega-contract of the Office National des Chemins de Fer (ONCF), where the battle promises to be very tough. At stake, an investment of 16 billion DH with the obligation to create a joint venture ONCF-awarded operator, specialized in the maintenance and manufacturing of trains in Morocco.
While the ONCF has just formalized its call for competition for the acquisition of 168 trains (150 trains for inter-city services, Rapid and Metropolitan Shuttle Trains, as well as 18 High Speed Trains for the extensions of the High Speed lines ), this market will see all the major international rolling stock manufacturers compete in Morocco, particularly European and Chinese. The French Alstom, the German Siemens Mobility, the Spanish CAF and Talgo, the Italian Ansaldo Breda (now Hitachi Rail Italy), the Chinese CRRC and the Korean Hyundai, were already among the ten industrialists preselected during a an International Call for Expressions of Interest (AMI) around this acquisition, launched in November 2022 by the ONCF in Morocco. From now on, they are positioning themselves as firm candidates.
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If Chinese construction companies, including the construction giant CCCC, have also positioned themselves on future work on the extension of high-speed lines, the Chinese public-owned group CRRC, world leader in rail, notably said he was ready to enter the race. It must be said that the world leader has more than one reason to believe in his chances. Last July, the ONCF entrusted the contract for the summary preliminary design studies (APS) of the Marrakech-Agadir high-speed line to the railway design company China Railway Design Corporation (CRDC), affiliated with the railway design company. State China State Railway Group.
Becoming No. 2 in the world in rail since January 2021 with the purchase of the rail activities of the Canadian group Bombardier, Alstom is preparing to respond to the call for tenders for TER and TGV. The French group, which has long been a supplier to the ONCF, but also to the public transport companies of Rabat and Casablanca with its trams, is starting with a head start over its rivals. This is how it notably supplied the rolling stock (12 Alstom Euroduplexes) for the Tangier-Casablanca (Al Boraq) high-speed train, inaugurated on November 15, 2018.
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In addition to knowing the Moroccan market well, Alstom is, to date, the only international railway manufacturer to have a significant industrial presence in the Kingdom, through its Moroccan subsidiary. The group had opened a first factory (then with Nexans, since left) for electrical harnesses and transformers in Fez, in which it constantly reinvested. He announced on July 13 the creation for 14.6 million euros of a second industrial site, also near Fez, which will manufacture driving cabins for regional trains and metros.
However, in view of its mega-contract, the ONCF will require, according to the terms of the call for competition for the acquisition of 168 trains, that its suppliers commit to industrial investments in rolling stock. The purpose of the mega-group call for tenders is to create a mass effect and therefore to encourage the creation of a complete railway ecosystem in the Kingdom.
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In addition to this desire of the Office headed by Mohamed Rabie Khlie to create industrial sectors in the kingdom, the ONCF wants to force the chosen supplier to set up a current and industrial maintenance structure locally. This ONCF-winning operator joint venture, specialized in the production of self-propelled trainsets, around which a railway ecosystem of suppliers and subcontractors, will have to be structured. In other words, it will be a question of producing trains for the renewal of the ONCF fleet but also for export needs. And this with an industrial integration rate which is between 60% to 80%.
It must be said that the ONCF knows very well that its lucrative market is eyed by a significant number of players on the planet who engage in fierce competition. We can also mention the Spanish Talgo which has clearly indicated its interest in participating in this call for tenders. “Talgo seeks to highlight the significant potential of two of its main products: the AVRIL high-speed train (TGV) and the EMU suburban and regional light train, which can reach 160 kilometers per hour, but which does not has not yet been marketed,” explains Information, not without specifying that this train recently obtained final authorization for circulation in Spain and is already attracting interest from international operators who would consider placing orders. Enough to suggest a fierce battle for this megacontract with prices driven downwards. For the competitors, the stakes are high. Note that the delivery schedule will be spread over 4 years between 2027 and 2030.
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