The minister of equipment said 14 dams are being constructed in several regions across the country.
Rabat – Minister of Equipment and Water Abdelkader Amara has expressed alarming concerns over water scarcity in Morocco.
During a weekly session at the House of Councillors on Tuesday, Amara said 14 dams are under construction across Morocco to address water scarcity.
The official said that the government is keen to give a strong signal through launching five large dams this year compared to fewer dams in previous years.
He said that in previous years, Morocco generally launched only two to three dams.
“The construction of six dams has been completed, including the Dar Kharrufa Dam in Larache and the Cherif Al Idrisi Martel Dam in the Tetouan region and Tamanoute in Midelt.”
The minister emphasized that more other dams are under construction.
He said that Morocco is building the 14 dams in several regions, including in Errachidia, Taroudant, Tetouan, Larache, Khemisset, Tangier, Sefrou, Zagora, Al Hoceima, Guelmim, Laayoune, Guercif, Al Haouz, and Taounate.
In 2021, Morocco will program five more dams in Beni Mellal, Figuig, and Azilal.
The official also shared data about the alarming decline of rainfall, which resulted in the decrease of dam filling rates in some of the key rivers across Morocco.
The 2019-2020 season saw a decline in the rainfall rate of 5% in the Loukkos hydraulic basin, -67% in Sous-Massa, -50% in the Bouregreg and Chaouia basin, and -47% in the Oum Errabia basin.
To face fresh water scarcity challenges, Morocco also expressed determination to use desalination of sea water.
In addition to plans to construct more dams, Morocco announced the launch of construction in Casablanca on the largest seawater desalination plant in Africa.
Amara said that the project has a budget of MAD 10 billion, or $1 billion.
The project seeks to function with a capacity of over 300 million cubic meters.
Recently, Spain approved a loan of €5 million for Morocco to build two seawater desalination plants—in Assa-Zag in the Guelmim-Oued Noun region and in Moulay Brahim in the Marrakech-Safi region.
Morocco is among the countries under serious threat to face high baseline water stress. The World Resources Institute (WRI) ranked Morocco 22nd in the overall ranking and 12th among Arab countries.
