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Rabat – Morocco’s Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan launched the construction of the Casablanca seawater desalination plant on Monday in the commune of Lamharza Essahel in the province of El Jadida.
The largest of its kind in Africa, the plant is projected to have an annual production capacity of 300 million cubic meters and serve an estimated population of 7.5 million inhabitants.
The project is in line with Morocco’s approach to tackle the water crisis, particularly in the area marked by a major rainfall deficit and very high pressure on conventional water resources.
The project is also part of the Improvement of Water Supply axis of the 2020-2027 National Program for Drinking Water Supply and Irrigation that King Mohammed VI launched in 2020, with an overall cost that is expected to reach MAD 143 billion ($14.3 billion).
The plant aims to meet the growing water demand in the Casablanca region, as well as the cities of Settat, Berrechid, Bir Jdid and surrounding areas.
The construction will cover two phases on a 50 hectare site. This project will require a total investment of MAD 6.5 billion ($652.2 million), mobilized through a public-private partnership.
In the first phase, which is scheduled to be operational by the end of 2026, the station is expected to reach a capacity of 548,000 cubic meters of treated water per day.
This capacity is expected to expand to 822,000 cubic meters per day during the second phase.
The project will also include the construction of a seawater desalination unit using reverse osmosis and the establishment of a transport system for drinking water, including plumbing stations, storage reservoir, and a distribution network of nearly 130 kilometers of supply pipelines.
The water transport system will require an additional MAD 3 billion ($301 million) financed by public funds.
The station will also include two seawater intake pipelines of 1,850 meters in length, a 2,500-meter long discharge outfall, reverse osmosis desalination installations, a sludge treatment unit, as well as a control and management center.
Morocco has been facing several challenges linked to drought and water crisis amid dry seasons in the past five years.
To address the challenges, Morocco announced measures to rationalize drinking water use, including anti-water wasting campaigns.
In May, Moroccan Minister of Equipment Nizar Baraka said the government has enacted a comprehensive water strategy with three key pushes. .
He said this strategy covers maximizing traditional water sources, aggressively developing desalination as an unconventional resource, and prioritizing water conservation and efficiency.
