Rabat – The French Development Agency (AFD) has granted Morocco a €50 million loan to extend and improve potable water in the northern provinces of Morocco.
The National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE) signed the agreement with AFD on Friday at a ceremony in the presence of ONEE Director General Abderrahim El Hafidi and AFD Director in Morocco, Mihoub Mezouaghi.
The agreement hopes to increase access to safe drinking water in the rural areas of the provinces of Al-Hoceima, Driouch, Nador, and Taounate, ONEE said in a statement Monday.
ONEE also hopes the loan will boost production in urban areas, increase storage autonomy in the four provinces, and improve the performance of the drinking water supply.
The extension and improvement program will benefit a population of approximately 300,000 inhabitants, nearly half of them in rural areas. It also hopes to promote resilience to climate change mobilize additional resources.
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ONEE noted that the new loan confirms the two parties’ will to strengthen their cooperative relationship.
Including past loans, the French bank has loaned Morocco €275 million to increase access to drinking water and sanitation.
In June, the head of ONEE in the Fez region, Mohammed Berkia, announced that ONEE is undertaking projects to solve the problem of potable water in the northern Rif region and provide supplementary water for laundry and other uses.
To increase the water supply in rural areas of the Rif, Berkia said ONEE will invest MAD 330 million to build 13 new dam reservoirs.
The projects also include treating seawater and preserving it in a 2,000-cubic-meter tank.
