RABAT: Morocco’s state-owned rail operator, ONCF, is seeking $8.8 billion from investors to finance its expansion plan, the head of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina, has said.
He told reporters late on Friday after a three-day Africa Investment Forum in Rabat that investors were ready to extend ONCF more than the required amount, with financing offers totalling over $13 billion.
AfDB partners with other banks and financial institutions for some large-scale development projects it finances across the continent.
During the closed-door event, the bank could garner a total financing worth $29.2 billion for African development projects including water supply, energy, transport, private equity, tourism, infrastructure and pharmaceuticals.
Morocco plans to extend its high-speed train network to Marrakech before the 2030 World Cup, and further south to Agadir.
The operator also aims to stretch its network to double the number of cities it serves to 43, or 87 percent of the Moroccan population, by 2040.
ONCF was not immediately available to comment.
Moroccan rail operator seeks $8.8 bln funding for expansion plan
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Moroccan rail operator seeks $8.8 bln funding for expansion plan
- Morocco plans to extend its high-speed train network to Marrakech before the 2030 World Cup
Turkiye detains 110 suspects in operation targeting Daesh after deadly clash
- In Tuesday’s operation, police carried out raids on 114 addresses in Istanbul and two other provinces, arresting 110 of the total 115 suspects that they sought
ISTANBUL: Turkish police detained 110 suspects in an operation against Daesh on Tuesday, a day after three police officers and six militants were killed in a gunfight in northwest Turkiye, the Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office said.
Police conducted an eight-hour siege at a house in the town of Yalova, on the Sea of Marmara coast south of Istanbul, a week after more than 100 suspected Daesh members were detained in connection with alleged plans to carry out Christmas and New Year attacks. Eight police officers and another security force member were wounded in the raid on the property, which was one of more than 100 addresses targeted by authorities on Monday.
In Tuesday’s operation, police carried out raids on 114 addresses in Istanbul and two other provinces, arresting 110 of the total 115 suspects that they sought, the prosecutor’s statement said. It said various digital materials and documents were seized.
Turkiye has stepped up operations against suspected Daesh militants this year, as the group returns to prominence globally. The US carried out a strike against the militants in northwest Nigeria last week, while two gunmen who attacked a Hanukkah event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach this month appeared to be inspired by Daesh, Australian police have said. On December 19, the US military launched strikes against dozens of Daesh targets in Syria in retaliation for an attack on American personnel.
Almost a decade ago, the jihadist group was blamed for a series of attacks on civilian targets in Turkiye, including gun attacks on an Istanbul nightclub and the city’s main airport, killing dozens of people. Turkiye was a key transit point for foreign fighters, including those of Daesh, entering and leaving Syria during the war there.
Police have carried out regular operations against the group in subsequent years and there have been few attacks since the wave of violence between 2015-2017.
