Rabat – Minister of Equipment and Water Nizar Baraka announced a MAD 43.1 billion ($4.2 billion) allocation for Morocco’s 2025 public investment in water and infrastructure. He presented the budget plan to the House of Representatives’ committee on infrastructure, energy, mines, and environment.
The 2025 budget includes MAD 20.6 billion ($2 billion) for ministry-led projects and MAD 22.5 billion ($2.2 billion) for investments in public institutions overseen by the concerned ministry. Baraka noted that this funding aims to drive economic growth by enhancing infrastructure in key sectors, particularly in water resources and transportation networks.
These projects come as Morocco faces ongoing challenges in water management, a situation that has persisted for nearly six years and driven the government to take action to mitigate its serious effects.
New and ongoing projects across water management, meteorology, road systems, and port infrastructure will be supported, with specific allocations of MAD 13.8 billion ($1.34 billion) for the National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE), MAD 2.7 billion ($262 million) for the national highway authority, and MAD 745 million ($72 million) for the National Agency of Ports.
MAD 4.75 billion ($460 million) of the budget is reserved for water-focused initiatives, including MAD 756 million ($73 million) each for potable water production and hydraulic facility improvements, MAD 983 million ($95 million) to expand rural water access, and MAD 338 million ($33 million) for wastewater management.
Baraka noted that the National Water Plan 2020-2050, a key framework for managing Morocco’s water resources, is expected to be completed by the end of 2025. This long-term plan aligns with Morocco’s New Development Model and incorporates insights from water resource master plans.
For meteorology, the ministry has allocated MAD 35.5 million ($3.4 million) to expand monitoring networks, with an additional MAD 11 million ($1.1 million) for communications and data processing, and MAD 26 million ($2.5 million) for equipment maintenance.
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In road infrastructure, the ministry says it is committed to expanding Morocco’s highway networks and maintaining agreements, including a project to upgrade roads near Casablanca’s Grand Stadium for the 2030 World Cup. Rehabilitation plans also extend to areas recently impacted by floods and the Al Haouz earthquake.
Meanwhile, In maritime projects, the ministry will conduct studies to safeguard Morocco’s coastal areas and aims to complete a coastal management plan by 2035. This includes satellite imaging for coastline monitoring and enhanced security for the public maritime domain.
Despite Morocco’s ongoing water deficit, Baraka noted progress in water reserves, with dam levels rising from 4.43 billion cubic meters (27.5% capacity) on September 1 to 5.01 billion cubic meters (29.8%) by November 4.
This marks a drastic improvement from the 24.8% capacity recorded over the same period last year, reflecting efforts to address water scarcity through resource management initiatives.
Also announced today was an increase in the Ministry of Agriculture’s 2025 investment budget, which will rise by 4% to MAD 14.21 billion ($1.4 billion), up from MAD 13.62 billion ($1.34 billion) in 2024, according to agriculture minister Ahmed El Bouari.
El Bouari outlined additional funding of MAD 1.74 billion ($170.5 million) for sustainable development and nearly MAD 359 million ($35.2 million) for maritime fisheries, bringing the total agricultural investment in the 2025 finance bill to MAD 17.27 billion ($1.7 billion).
