RABAT, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- French Agency for Development (AFD) on Monday granted Morocco 94 million U.S. dollars in loan to finance the last phase of Morocco's high-speed rail project.
The agreement was signed by the Moroccan national office of railways and AFD during a ceremony chaired by the Moroccan Finance and Economy Minister Mohamed Boussaid and French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian.
It is the second loan that AFD granted to support Morocco's high-speed rail project, after the agency offered a loan of 258 million U.S. dollars in 2011.
AFD is a bilateral development financial institution established in 1941 that works on behalf of the French government.
Since the beginning of this year, the French-made double-decker TGVs have been tested ahead of the launch of a flagship new line linking the Mediterranean city of Tangier with Morocco's financial capital Casablanca in the second half of 2018.
The new trains, which can reach a speed of 320 kilometers per hour, will reduce journey time between the two cities from five hours to about two hours.
The 2-billion-dollar project has been in development for a decade, financed by numerous partners, including France, Morocco, France, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the UAE.
