Consultants have submitted bids for the preliminary design study for an elevated metro in Casablanca.  

The deadline for bids was set for 16 July after an extension to the original deadline of 20 June. The client on the project is Casablanca’s public sector transport authority, Casa Transports.

Construction of the metro is due to start in January 2014 and will be completed by the end of 2016. It is estimated to be 15-18 kilometres long.

The train will connect Hay Moulay Rachid to the downtown area of Casablanca and to the Bourgogne quarter of the city. It will have the capacity to carry up to 400,000 passengers a day, according to local press reports.

The project is to be partially funded by the French Development Agency. The tender for financial bids for the scheme is expected to be opened on 26 July.

The metro will help improve traffic congestion in the Moroccan city.

A new tram was opened in Casablanca in December 2012 to help improve public transport connections in the city. The tramway is operated by a consortium headed by RATP-Dev, the foreign arm of French public transport company RATP Group. The tram can carry 250,000 passengers a day and it has transported a daily average of 60,000 passengers within the first seven months of operation.