Construction Review Online
Casablanca Transport en Site Aménagé SA (Casa Transport SA), a local development company (SDL) responsible for “sustainable and united development” of Casablanca, the economic capital of Morocco, has signed an over US$ 121M loan agreement that will be supplemented by approximately US$ 606 000 technical assistance grant, with Agence Française de Développement (AFD) for the construction of two new lines (T3 and T4) for the Casablanca tramway.
The T3 line will be constructed from Boulevard Abdelkader Essahroui to Gare Casa Port via the city Centre, a distance of approximately 14 kilometers. This line will have twenty stations and five multimodal transfer points. The T4 line on the other hand will cover a distance of 12.5 kilometers from Boulevard Okba Ibnou Nafiaa to Arab League Park via Boulevard Mohamed VI. It will have nineteen stations and four transfer points.
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With a total investment of over US$ 771M, the two lines will be built simultaneously and are set for commissioning in 2024.
A decisive step in Casablanca’s urban transport plan
Nabil Belabed, the Chief Executive Officer of Casa Transport said that the implementation of this project is an important step in Casablanca’s urban transport plan. “The long-term objective of the project is to provide a quality public transport network that is as wide as possible and that offers efficient intermodality with other modes of transport,” explained Belabed.
According to the Director of AFD in Morocco, Mihoub Mezouaghi, the project also aims to promote adapted access for people with reduced mobility but also safer access for women to public transport, thus helping to facilitate their greater economic and social inclusion.
“Today tramways are the preferred mode of public transport in Casablanca. Currently, on tramway lines T1 and T2, 49% of the users are women,” he clarified.
