Footballers playing at Casablanca’s new Grand Stadium will have a hybrid grass pitch designed to withstand the demands of top-level matches, under a contract worth 92.47m dirhams ($9.3m). The National Agency for Public Equipment has awarded the contract to a consortium formed by SOMECOTRAD and Catalonia-based ROYALVERD SERVICE SLU. The deal, worth 92,473,875.60 dirhams, including all taxes, covers work on the playing surface at the stadium in Benslimane province.
The contract is the eighth lot of the stadium project, according to a tender notice seen by news website Hespress.
Four companies initially submitted bids. One was disqualified after checks of its administrative and technical documents, while another was eliminated during the technical assessment. The remaining two bidders advanced to the financial stage.
The tender required bidders to provide a provisional guarantee of 1m dirhams ($100,000).
The playing surface will combine natural grass with artificial fibres to strengthen the turf and help it withstand heavy use during matches.
An underground ventilation and forced-drainage system will regulate moisture and support grass growth. Moving LED lighting units will make up for a lack of sunlight, while smart irrigation and a central monitoring system will use sensors to track temperature, humidity and salinity.
The project is overseen by SONARGES, which acts as the project owner, while the National Agency for Public Equipment serves as the delegated project manager.
Work is expected to take 14 months. The contractor must also maintain the entire grass surface for 24 months after the project is provisionally handed over.
The stadium’s surrounding infrastructure is covered by a separate contract awarded in early October to the CMS-GTR consortium.
Worth about 2.7bn dirhams ($270m), the deal covers the development of the areas around the stadium and connections to road networks, water supplies, electricity, telecommunications and drainage systems.
