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Rabat – The Canadian aerospace and transportation company Bombardier is bound to transform Morocco into its railway platform for African countries. The giant wants to triple its investments in the country, with the construction of a new plant scheduled for late 2018.
The group has just unveiled at the Rail Industry Summit, held last month
in Casablanca, that it will build over 145,000 m² of surface area, a budget of EUR 60 million euros of investments and 2,000 direct jobs a new plant in 2018, reported Jeune Afrique.
The future plant will be established in Kenitra free zone. It will consist of 145,000 square meters to its suppliers. Fifteen suppliers have already expressed interest in investing in the kingdom, supporting Bombardier’s ambition to convince about 50 of its subcontractors to relocate their activities to Morocco.
This ecosystem is intended to support the development of the railway sector in Morocco. The Canadian giant, which has won the project to modernize the establishment of 360 kilometers of railways and the renovation of 14 trains from the ONCF, is eyeing major contracts in the country.
“The ecosystem created in Morocco will allow to be a bridgehead to go-to African markets for TGV, regional trains, and trams that will be made in Morocco,” Taoufiq Boussaid, president of the Moroccan subsidiary of Bombardier, told Jeune Afrique.
Boussaid has previously said that “ultimately, Bombardier’s ambition is to reach 40,000 square meters of industrial units, the creation of an engineering center in Casablanca, the creation of 600 direct jobs and technology transfer in this sector.”
Jean-Paul Boutibou, VP Sales, Middle East and Africa, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft told Morocco World News in a previous interview that Bombardier “evaluated several countries and chose Morocco for a number of reasons.”
These include the country’s internationally competitive manufacturing costs, low shipping and transportation costs and proximity to Europe. Other aerospace manufacturers have established a footprint in Morocco already. A key factor in the selection of the Nouaceur site was its proximity to Casablanca, a city that offers quality aerospace, industrial, and educational infrastructures.
