Building on an earlier contract to supply train cars to Morocco, the South Korean firm Hyundai Rotem has won a deal to maintain the kingdom’s railways worth 748.2 billion Korean won, the equivalent of more than $487 million, according to a statement from the company, part of the Hyundai Motor Group.
Hyundai Rotem said it held a signing ceremony for the train maintenance project this week with ONCF, Morocco’s national railway office (the state-owned operator that runs the country’s train network), in Rabat. The event was attended by the company’s chief executive, Lee Yong-bae, and ONCF’s director general, Mohamed Rabie Khlie, alongside a number of other officials.
The company explained that the contract forms part of the double-decker train supply project signed in February of last year, and is intended to set out the details of train maintenance, materials management, and technical support. It described the deal as the largest overseas rail maintenance project the firm has ever won, covering the upkeep of all the trains it has contracted to deliver, a total of 440 train cars.
The project will run for 20 years and be carried out through a joint venture that Hyundai Rotem will establish with ONCF. Under the deal, the Korean firm will supply the spare parts needed for inspection and maintenance work, operate a technical support office, and provide comprehensive maintenance technology, in addition to carrying out test inspections, repairs, and the replacement of parts essential to keeping the trains performing reliably and operating safely.
Hyundai Rotem said it hopes the deal will help strengthen public transport in Morocco and have a positive effect on expanding its business in the African rail market. It added that the spare parts covered by the maintenance project will be supplied by more than 200 Korean domestic companies, which it expects to contribute to shared growth in the rail industry of both Korea and Morocco.
The maintenance contract follows the supply deal Hyundai Rotem won in February of last year, worth 2.2027 trillion Korean won, for trains that will link Morocco’s major cities, foremost among them the economic capital, Casablanca. That order came as Morocco prepares to co-host the 2030 FIFA World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal, a tournament driving a wave of investment in the country’s transport and stadium infrastructure.
According to the statement, an official at the Korean company said the firm would do its utmost to help develop Morocco’s local rail industry and strengthen public transport through the contract with ONCF, and would take full responsibility for the project to ensure the contracted trains are delivered smoothly and that subsequent maintenance is carried out efficiently.
Background that explains why this matters: Morocco has invested heavily in its railways over the past decade, including launching Africa’s first high-speed line, the Al Boraq service between Tangier and Casablanca, in 2018, with plans to extend it further south. The push to modernize and expand the fleet has accelerated ahead of the 2030 World Cup, and these Hyundai Rotem deals, supply plus two decades of maintenance, are part of that broader upgrade.
