Rabat: Hyundai Rotem Co. announced it has secured a railway maintenance contract valued at 748.2 billion won (US$487.3 million) in Morocco, expanding on a previous train supply agreement with the North African nation. The defense and railway equipment subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Group formalized the agreement with Morocco's national railway operator, ONCF, in Rabat on Thursday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the project entails the maintenance of all 440 train cars to be supplied by Hyundai Rotem and will span a 20-year period. This will be executed through a joint venture between Hyundai Rotem and ONCF. The recent contract builds upon Hyundai Rotem's 2.23 trillion-won deal secured in February last year, which involved supplying double-decker electric trains to Morocco.

The double-decker trains are anticipated to run on routes linking major cities, mainly around Casablanca, as Morocco gears up to co-host the 2030 FIFA World Cup.