Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Park Sang-woo speaks during a press conference in Sejong, Thursday. Courtesy of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport
By Ko Dong-hwan
SEJONG — The government is intensifying efforts to export the nation’s railway technology, related infrastructure and locomotives to Panama and Morocco, aiming to expand the industry’s global footprint into Africa and Central America, the land, infrastructure and transport minister said Thursday.
The minister’s remarks followed his visits to the two countries earlier this month, during which he discussed the potential for such exports.
“The Moroccan government is trying to expand the country’s railway system on a big scale as it’ll host the 2030 World Cup together with Spain and Portugal,” Minister Park Sang-woo said during a press conference in Sejong.
According to him, Hyundai Rotem is bidding for the Moroccan train project worth $1.6 billion, which involves the provision of 168 trains.
The Korean company is now vying with France’s Alstom, Spain’s CAF and Talgo and China’s CRRC.
On July 4, Park met Moroccan Minister of Transport and Logistics Mohammed Abdeljalil and Mohamed Rabie Khlie, general director of the country’s state-owned railway operator the Moroccan National Railways Office.
The meeting also took place as Morocco plans to expand its existing railway system, aiming to add 4,410 kilometers of new railways overall. About a 1,100 kilometers-long section will be specifically for high-speed trains, 1,600 kilometers for regional trains, 100 kilometers for port-connecting trains and 1,610 kilometers need of repair or upgrades.
UTY EMU-250 is a customized version of Hyundai Rotem’s KTX-EUM for use in Uzbekistan. Courtesy of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport
“Korea now retains completely domestic railway technologies,” Park said. “I told the Moroccan authorities that we’ll transfer our entire railway technologies to Morocco if they agree to purchase our trains.”
Prior to his visit to Morocco, Park visited Panama to join the Panamanian president’s inauguration ceremony, July 1. While in the Central American country, he met the country’s ministers of public works, foreign affairs and chief of national railway service and listened to their requests for supporting Panama with Korea’s railway technologies.
In Panama, Hyundai Engineering and Construction’s consortium has been extending Panama Metro Line 3 since 2021.
“Train service improvement was one of the Panamanian president’s key pledges,” Park said. “Public safety and narcotic issues in the country are safer than other countries in the region. Panama is the cornerstone for Korea to expand its global markets throughout the region.”
Park said that he invited ministers of both countries to this year’s Global Infrastructure Cooperation Conference in Seoul in September to further promote Korean railway technologies to them and strike possible deals for an exchange of expertise or educational opportunities.
“We’ll hopefully sign a memorandum of understanding with the two countries and form a business committee to make the exports happen,” Park said.
The minister’s future agenda announcement comes after Hyundai Rotem last month secured a high-speed train supply deal worth 270 billion won with Uzbekistan. Forty-two train cars of UTY EMU-250, a customized version of KTX-EUM made by the company, will run along 1,216 kilometers worth of railway tracks, including a 590-kilometer line between Tashkent and Bukhara, at a speed of 250 kilometers per hour. The trains are scheduled to commence operations in 2027.