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Rabat – As part of its water management and sustainability ambitions amid growing fears of an imminent global shortage of water, OCP Group is scaling up its investments in sustainable solutions to both meet its own water needs and contribute to water security in Morocco.
Several representatives from Spain, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as well as from OCP and Morocco’s National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE) spoke yesterday at the 4th Mediterranean Water Forum to shed light on solutions to tackle the biggest challenges of water sustainability.
Since the start of its industrial program in 2008, OCP Group has developed an integrated and sustainable water program.
Aiming to find solutions that support sustainable development and boost innovation, the Group prides itself on having taken a step into the circular economy to create new activities in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Speaking yesterday at a panel themed “Non-conventional water resources,” Morocco’s OCP representative Karim Saoud highlighted the Group’s water strategy as combining industrial growth and the preservation of water resources.
“The industrial development program launched by OCP in response to global food security involves tripling its water needs over the period 2010-2028,” he said.
In addition to optimizing OCP’s water usage by meeting 100% of the company’s water needs from unconventional source by 2026, the program also entails optimal waste management and R&D efforts in collaboration with partners like Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), explained the OCP official.
“Thanks to this program, 31% of our water needs are satisfied with non-conventional resources,” he commented, recalling that there are several achievements to date in line with the mobilization of unconventional water resources such as the wastewater treatment plants (STEP) in the cities of Khouribga, Youssoufia, and Benguerir.
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Regarding water optimization, Saoud outlined the progress of the Slurry Pipeline project in the transport sector that helped optimize 1.3Mm³ of water annually, as well as the recycling of sludge water projects with the goal of recycling 95% of used water. Currently, the group recycles 80% of its wastewater.
Saoud also spoke of sustainability-driven projects OCP hopes to realize within the next four years, including expanding desalination centers and STEP across Morocco.
To date, there are two desalination centers in Morocco, in Laayoune and Jorf. The Group intends to expand the two facilities while also adding another desalination center in the city of Safi by 2026.
Saoud concluded his speech by recalling the creation of JESA, which is a joint venture with an Australian group WorleyParsons with the aim of developing the capacities of Morocco’s water management sector.
“We are especially focused on sanitation and the treatment of wastewater, [in JESA] we use all the available tools to carry out different steps,” he said.
Meanwhile, ONEE’s representative Selma Jariri stressed that Morocco faces several challenges in the water sector, especially in terms of the distribution of water resources.
Water scarcity is becoming a pressing global concern as only 2.5% of the water covering the earth’s surface is freshwater, and just 0.3% of freshwater is found in lakes and rivers and is available for human consumption.
Jariri highlighted ONEE’s desalination centers in Laayoune, Khenifra and El Hoceima cities aimed at supplying drinking water to zones lacking conventional water resources and securing the supply of drinking water amid the effects of climate change.
“The desalination system may provide a very important solution for all of us,” Jariri said, underlining the need to optimize investments and the operating costs to maximize drinking water treatment processes.
Also attending the panel were Teodoro Estrela from Spain’s Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, juan ojeda from TYPSA Group Spain, Jose Moreno Sandoval, Regional Ministry of Water, Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Environment, Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia, and Maki Abdourahman from FAO.
