Skip to main content

North African roads

Morocco has a rapidly expanding road network, which is benefiting from expertise offered by French contractor Colas. The quality of Morocco's roads is higher than in many other African countries, with much of this due to the use of the latest road construction technology by Colas. It previously took almost two days to go from Casablanca to Tan Tan in the south and this journey now takes less than eight hours. Colas has some 800 machines and vehicles in Morocco, with 70 graders, 70 wheeled loaders, 50 excava
February 8, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Morocco has a rapidly expanding road network, which is benefiting from expertise offered by French contractor 184 Colas. The quality of Morocco's roads is higher than in many other African countries, with much of this due to the use of the latest road construction technology by Colas.

It previously took almost two days to go from Casablanca to Tan Tan in the south and this journey now takes less than eight hours. Colas has some 800 machines and vehicles in Morocco, with 70 graders, 70 wheeled loaders, 50 excavators, 50 compactors, 30 bulldozers, six articulated haulers and a lot of smaller vehicles. 2394 Volvo supplies 30 of these larger machines, including G900 graders, L120F wheel loaders, excavators of 22-45tonnes and a dozen asphalt pavers including Volvo's latest ABG7820 paver. Colas has doubled its business in Morocco over the last five years, benefiting from increased government spending on its road network.

However, harsh conditions make building roads in desert conditions difficult. The heat affects the wearing course, but this can be solved using admixtures to the asphalt, however the occasional rainstorm breaks up the structure and can be heavy and destructive. Meanwhile traffic volumes have grown significantly and the country has had to develop its network significantly. With contracts to build 150km of highway near Morocco's border with Mauritania, a 40km road through the mountains near Casablanca and a host of other projects, Colas hopes to win more business in the future.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Terex trucks make epic tough trek
    June 21, 2016
    A fleet of 29 Terex Trucks recently made a journey of 20,800km by road, river and sea The machines were delivered to the site in Myanmar, to work in a particularly tough extraction operation. The fleet was delivered to a site in Kachin State in northern Myanmar, having been ordered by three local firms to carry blasted material haul distances of around 2km for processing. The three companies; Aung Hein Min Gems, Yar Za Htar Ne Gems and Myanmar Thura Gems contacted Yangon-based dealer Aung Hein Min
  • Volvo CE’s African technical scheme
    August 24, 2012
    Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) says it is confronting a shortage of technicians in Sub-Saharan Africa with a Sida (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency) project. The aim is to help support and modernise technical schools in Africa, and Volvo CE will take a hands-on approach with a project at Selam Technical and Vocational College in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, providing new equipment, training materials, teacher training, ongoing curriculum development and apprenticeship opportunities fo
  • New drive developments for the market
    November 14, 2016
    In recent years developments in engine technology have played a key role with regard to improved machine performance. Diesel engine makers have had to meet a challenging schedule in terms of delivering new low emission engine technology and meet tough regulatory requirements for the US and Europe. Along with the cleaner emissions have come improved fuel economy and increased power density, allowing customers to meet the power needs of their machines with smaller and more economical engines. At the same time
  • Volvo CE offers electric future
    April 24, 2025
    Volvo CE is offering an electric future for construction equipment.