Following an international call for tenders, a consortium headed by SYSTRA has been chosen by Casablanca Transport S.A. (Casa Transports) to manage the project to construct the city’s first tramway line.

SYSTRA is in partnership with its subsidiary SYSTRA Morocco and the Moroccan firm CID Engineering and Development Consultants, who have partnered SYSTRA on a number of other projects. The consortium is responsible for the entire management of the project, from detailed designs to management of construction works and includes preparing specifications and organising the call for tenders from contractors. Prior to this, in 2008, SYSTRA had drawn up preliminary and pre-project designs for this first line which will be 29 kilometres in length and comprise 50 tram stops. The line is part of an initiative to develop public transport in the city and, once completed, the tramway network will have 4 lines and extend for a total of 76 km.

Casa Transports was founded in 2008 specifically to own and manage the tramway. Its shareholders are the Moroccan State, local authorities, the Greater Casablanca Region, the Hassan II Fund for economic and social development, as well as the State Pension Fund, ONCF Moroccan Railways, and the Banque Centrale Populaire. This clearly demonstrates the commitment of the Moroccan authorities to public transport.

The first line of the tramway is due to be launched on 12 December 2012. Construction works will commence in the second half of 2009, following a programme of works required to divert other traffic, which began at the start of 2009.

The award of this contract confirms SYSTRA as a major player in Morocco. The company has already been involved in a number of projects, such as providing assistance to the owner of the Rabat-Salé tramway, and in 2005, this led to the establishment of a subsidiary, SYSTRA Morocco, to manage business development in the country.