Abu Dhabi The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) yesterday said it is funding a Dh367.3 million high-speed railway project in Morocco in line with its drive to support infrastructure projects in developing countries.

ADFD said the high speed railway project will connect the cities of Casablanca and Tangiers.

ADFD officials attended a ceremony marking the commencement of construction.

"In the ceremony, which was held in Tangiers and attended by His Majesty King Mohammad VI of Morocco, two loan and fund guarantee agreements, both estimated at around Dh367.3 million, were also inked," ADFD said in a statement.

Mohammad Saif Al Suw-aidi, Acting Director General of ADFD, said the high speed railway would make a "huge qualitative stride in the transport field in Morocco by providing a highly competitive means of transportation in terms of safety, quality and speed.

"The project will meet the expected increase in demand for this type of transportation after the operation of Tangiers' Mediterranean port, which was financed with a Dh734.6 million contribution from ADFD and which is expected to witness activities in 2012," he added.

Win-win situation

Commenting on the development, Mohammad Al Asoomi, a UAE economist, said it's a win-win situation for both Abu Dhabi and Morocco.

"For Morocco it's a good opportunity to develop new projects, create new jobs and speed up their economic growth. For Abu Dhabi it's a good opportunity to diversify its foreign investment and get a reasonable rate of return on its investment," Al Asoomi told Gulf News.

He said the Moroccan market has good opportunities for foreign direct investment with tourism as its hub.

ADFD's Al Suwaidi noted that the high-speed railway could reduce travel time between Casablanca and Tangier from five hours to just two, positively reflecting on the economic development pace by doubling the number of containers and raising the annual number of passengers from 6 to 10 million starting from 2015.

ADFD said it has offered grants and loans to finance 25 development projects in Morocco with a total estimated value of Dh2 billion.

Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi has offered grants estimated at Dh600 million to finance ADFD-managed development projects.

Tangiers port, Mediterranean road and Shaikh Zayed Hospital are among the most prominent.