Spanish company invests $10.4 mln in Marrakesh urban transport

The Spanish group "Alsa" will invest $10.4 Million (100 Mln DH) in urban transport in the central Moroccan city of Marrakesh, under an agreement signed Monday with the city's authorities.

Starting next April, the company will initially operate some 20 buses inside the city and add 70 buses over 7 months.

The 15-year agreement stipulates that the Spanish company should hire in priority workers of the former public transport agency which went bankrupt.

The state's agency which used to enjoy the monopoly over inner-city transport buses went bankrupt after accumulating a deficit of $ 13.5 mln (130 mln dh), following which the local authorities decided to dissolve the agency and transfer urban transportation to the private sector.