France’s Alstom Strikes 45 Million Euro Tram Deal with Rabat

A file photo taken on May 19, 2015 shows the Alstom logo at the Alstom plant in Montoir-de-Bretagne, near Saint-Nazaire, western France. AFP PHOTO / JEAN-SEBASTIEN EVRARD
A file photo taken on May 19, 2015 shows the Alstom logo at the Alstom plant in Montoir-de-Bretagne, near Saint-Nazaire, western France. AFP PHOTO / JEAN-SEBASTIEN EVRARD
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France’s Alstom Strikes 45 Million Euro Tram Deal with Rabat

A file photo taken on May 19, 2015 shows the Alstom logo at the Alstom plant in Montoir-de-Bretagne, near Saint-Nazaire, western France. AFP PHOTO / JEAN-SEBASTIEN EVRARD
A file photo taken on May 19, 2015 shows the Alstom logo at the Alstom plant in Montoir-de-Bretagne, near Saint-Nazaire, western France. AFP PHOTO / JEAN-SEBASTIEN EVRARD

French train maker Alstom has signed a 45 million euro contract with the Rabat-Salé transport company STRS for the supply of 22 Citadis trams that will run in the Moroccan capital.

The Citadis trams will be designed and manufactured in La Rochelle, France. Five other French sites will be used for the design, the production of the on-board electronic equipment and passenger information systems, power modules and circuit-breaker boxes. And, in Italy, another site will supply the traction system, the French firm said.

Following delivery, which is scheduled 26 months after the date of the contract’s entry into force, the trams will be subjected to static and dynamic tests at the customer’s site. Alstom’s team in Morocco will ensure after-sales service, it said.

The deal aims to increase STRS existing fleet of 44 Citadis trams from Alstom.

Trams began operating in Rabat in 2011. The number of commuters at the Rabat-Salé’s two tramway lines has steadily grown, with over 150 million passengers transported to date. To meet growing transportation needs, STRS has decided to add more lines, reaching 33 kilometers.

The 32m-long low-floor Citadis LRVs can transport up to 606 passengers when operating in multiple. Each LRV has 12 doors per side and is designed for use by mobility-impaired passengers. 

Alstom has already delivered Citadis trams to the cities of Rabat and Casablanca, and 12 Euroduplex trains for the high-speed rail line that will link Tangier to Casablanca.

The company has branches in 60 countries.



Exports from Libya's Hariga Oil Port Stop as Crude Supply Dries Up, Say Engineers

A general view of an oil terminal in Zueitina, west of Benghazi April 7, 2014. (Reuters)
A general view of an oil terminal in Zueitina, west of Benghazi April 7, 2014. (Reuters)
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Exports from Libya's Hariga Oil Port Stop as Crude Supply Dries Up, Say Engineers

A general view of an oil terminal in Zueitina, west of Benghazi April 7, 2014. (Reuters)
A general view of an oil terminal in Zueitina, west of Benghazi April 7, 2014. (Reuters)

The Libyan oil export port of Hariga has stopped operating due to insufficient crude supplies, two engineers at the terminal told Reuters on Saturday, as a standoff between rival political factions shuts most of the country's oilfields.

This week's flare-up in a dispute over control of the central bank threatens a new bout of instability in the North African country, a major oil producer that is split between eastern and western factions.

The eastern-based administration, which controls oilfields that account for almost all the country's production, are demanding western authorities back down over the replacement of the central bank governor - a key position in a state where control over oil revenue is the biggest prize for all factions.

Exports from Hariga stopped following the near-total shutdown of the Sarir oilfield, the port's main supplier, the engineers said.

Sarir normally produces about 209,000 barrels per day (bpd). Libya pumped about 1.18 million bpd in July in total.

Libya's National Oil Corporation NOC, which controls the country's oil resources, said on Friday the recent oilfield closures have caused the loss of approximately 63% of total oil production.