The African Development Bank (AfDB) is financing Morocco’s National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE) with an additional $21 million (MAD 190 million) to provide the North African country stability to avoid financial breakdown during the implementation of the Project to Make Access to Water Sustainable and Secure (PPSAE), dedicated to distributing clean drinking water to Morocco’s rural populations.
The additional funding will be added to the MAD 833 million ($92 million)which was allocated by the pan-African bank since the project began in 2019.
PPSAE will also receive an additional €37.25 million from the Growing Together in Africa Fund (GTAF). “Following the commitment of almost all the contracts for goods, works, and services, an overrun compared to the resources of the AfDB and AGTF loans was recorded on the activities financed by the bank. This overrun is mainly due to the increase in the price of steel and transport,” AfDB said in a statement.
Scope of work
The African bank added, “The PPSAE project aims to meet the growing need for drinking water and industrial water in five provinces of Morocco by 2040. These are Guercif, Zagora, Al Hoceima, Tangier and Beni Mellal.” The PPSAE is aimed at supporting demand management in vulnerable areas, especially in rural areas; it helps in reducing pollution in areas that are developing economically. The scope of this project includes the provinces of Tangier, Al Hoceima, Guercif, Beni Mellal, and Zagora.
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The pipeline will connect the Mharhar drinking water plant to the Ibn Battouta dam.
A 197.1 km pipeline, with an outer diameter of 700 mm and an inner diameter of 600 mm, will transport water from the Oued Ghiss dam to the current 0.4 m3 per second drinking water plant. The drinking water will be distributed to the population via a coated steel pipeline, which is 11 km long.
New conveyances for drinking water
In the Al Hoceima region, the government will reinforce the water supply in Guercif with drinking water conveyances (DWT). “The work has been divided into five lots, namely the construction and equipment of a drinking water plant with a capacity of 0.3 m3 per second, expandable to 0.45 m3 per second. The installation of a 20 km raw water pipeline and a 60 km pipeline that will transport drinking water from the Guercif plant to supply the population in rural areas,” AfDB said.
In Beni Mellal, the project involves upgrading a water supply system located near the Souk Sebt axis from the Afourer drinking water plant, which will also be modernized. Additionally, a new AEP will be constructed to supply Souk Sebt, Dar Oulad Zidouh, and Oulad Ayyad.
The PPSAE requires the construction of hydraulic facilities in Zagora as well. The water treatment plant has an estimated production capacity of 0.25 m3 per second and can be expanded to 0.375 m3 per second. The plant will treat water gathered from Agdez Dam. It will then distribute drinking water to households through 107 km of pipes.
The provider of the project, ONEE, is expected to complete it by 2023 at the very latest to ensure sustainable and secure access to water. The objective of the project is to provide clean drinking water to the local population in affected areas, especially in areas that suffer from water shortages.
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