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Marrakech – South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem has secured a KRW 748.2 billion ($487.3 million) contract to maintain and repair Morocco’s new fleet of double-decker electric trains. The 20-year agreement covers all 440 cars the company is set to deliver to Morocco’s national rail operator ONCF.
According to a press release by Hyundai Rotem, CEO Lee Yong-bae and ONCF Director General Mohamed Rabie Khlie signed the deal on Thursday at the ONCF headquarters in Rabat. The contract is the largest overseas rail maintenance deal the South Korean company has ever secured.
The agreement is structured around a joint venture established by Hyundai Rotem and the ONCF. Under its terms, the Korean manufacturer will supply spare parts for servicing and repairs, operate a dedicated helpdesk, and provide heavy maintenance technology support.
Heavy maintenance includes comprehensive inspection, testing, repair, and parts replacement work aimed at ensuring train performance and operational safety.
The deal is a direct follow-up to a far larger contract signed in February 2025. Hyundai Rotem, part of the K-Railway One Team consortium, won a KRW 2.2 trillion ($1.5 billion) order from the ONCF for the production of 440 double-decker electric multiple units. Those trains are designed to run at 160 km/h and will connect Casablanca, Morocco’s largest city, to other major urban centers.
The maintenance contract effectively extends South Korea’s involvement in Morocco’s rail sector from manufacturing into long-term operational support. Hyundai Rotem said it expects the agreement to strengthen public transport in Morocco and support its expansion into the broader African railway market.
The spare parts required for the maintenance program will be supplied by more than 200 small and mid-sized Korean companies that serve as Hyundai Rotem’s domestic partners. The company indicated this arrangement is expected to drive mutual growth between Korea’s rail industry and Morocco’s railway sector.
“We will work to contribute to the development of local rail infrastructure and the strengthening of public transport through this contract with the ONCF,” a Hyundai Rotem official stated. “We will take full responsibility for ensuring the trains are delivered and that after-sales maintenance proceeds smoothly.”
Morocco is investing heavily in expanding its conventional rail network ahead of the 2030 FIFA World Cup. The kingdom remains the only country in Africa operating a high-speed rail line, the Al Boraq service between Tangier and Casablanca, launched in 2018.
Separately on Thursday, South Korea’s national rail operator KORAIL signed a KRW 9 billion ($6 million) contract with the ONCF covering project management consultancy and maintenance advisory services for the same 440-car fleet.
The 38-month agreement will see KORAIL oversee design review, production quality control, pre-shipment inspection, trial runs, and final acceptance of the trains. KORAIL President Kim Taeseung signed the deal alongside Khlie at the ONCF headquarters.
