Moroccan national carrier Royal Air Maroc (RAM) launched a tender last week to buy an undisclosed number of new aircraft, CEO Abdelhamid Addou told Reuters on Thursday. An investment ticket and timeline for the deliveries was not disclosed, with Reuters noting that tenders of this size are usually not made public to safeguard stakeholders’ confidentiality.

In the works for a while: RAM had previously unveiled plans to purchase some 200 aircraft within the next ten years, with orders consisting of medium, short and long haul planes to boost competitiveness in the growing African aviation market, Addou told Reuters last October. We first got wind of RAM’s expansion plans in June last year, with the airline saying at the time that it would fund the purchases through debt, but declining to comment on whether this would involve a bond issuance.

Orders are in: RAM ordered 10 aircraft, including seven Boeing 737 Max’, to service medium haul routes last July and said it would lease five Boeing 737 aircraft for USD 300 mn from lessor Air Lease Corporation last August. The carrier also confirmed an order of two Boeing 787-9 to service long haul routes at the Dubai Airshow last November.

Getting World Cup ready? RAM’s tender aligns with the airline’s plans to quadruple its fleet within the next decade ahead of Morocco jointly hosting the 2030 FIFA World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal, Reuters writes. RAM’s fleet expansion looks to support the country’s goal to pull in some 17.5 mn tourists by 2026 and 26 mn tourists by 2030, Addou said.

OVER ON LAND-

Is the Morocco-Spain high-speed rail project expanding? Plans to construct a high-speed railway linking Spain with Morocco via an undersea tunnel in the Strait of Gibraltar have expanded to include a connection between Spain’s capital Madrid and Morocco’s economic hub at Casablanca, Moroccan news outlet Al Masaa reported earlier this month, citing sources it says have knowledge of the matter.

What we know: Work on the revamped project is set to kick off by 2H 2025 with completion set before the 2030 FIFA World Cup Morocco plans to co-host with Spain and Portugal. Apart from boosting connectivity with Europe ahead of the World Cup, the project also looks to promote trade between Morocco and Spain, already worth some EUR 20 bn, as a high speed railway will significantly reduce logistics costs associated with trade, observers told the outlet. The proposed project will be funded by Spain, Morocco, the EU, the World Bank, as well as regional banks, Almassa said. China might also contribute to funding.

Background: Spanish and Moroccan transport officials announced plans to move forward on joint logistics infrastructure projects last month, as the two countries lay out plans for undertakings on ports, railways, roads, and intercontinental connections ahead of their joint hosting of the FIFA World Cup with Portugal in 2030. A joint committee is set to meet in May.

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