France’s Alstom has won a $283m contract to supply 74 trams to Morocco’s Casa Transports for use on the Casablanca tramway.

Casa Transports is the state-run company that will oversee the construction of Casablanca’s tram network.

Under the deal, Alstom will also maintenance the trams for 15 years.

Alstom says it will deliver the first trams to Casa Transports by the end of 2011.

Casa will invite contractors to bid for the contracts to build the tram network by the end of this year.

French rail company Systra will manage work on the first line of the tramway. The company will carry out the work through its subsidiary Systra Morocco in partnership with Morocco’s CID Engineering & Development Consultants.

The tram network will open in December 2012.

Line 1 will comprise 50 stations on a 29-kilometre line crossing the city from east to west.

The entire tram network will have four lines with a total length of 76km.