Rabat – Morocco is accelerating its spending spree in its southern provinces as part of the country’s vision to make the region a central pillar of its aspirations to be a regional leader in terms of investments and development projects.
“Since the reunification of the southern regions with our motherland in 1976, the three sectors of drinking water, electricity, and sanitation saw a total investment of MAD 30 billion,” Abderrahim Alhafidi, chief executive of Morocco’s National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (ONNE), said last week during a two-day forum to showcase investment opportunities in the city of Dakhla.
Alhafidi further explained that electric power – the rate of electricity transfer measured against time – was set at seven megawatts in 1975 before Morocco recovered its southern provinces from Spanish occupation.
Today, electric power in the southern regions is now set at 1700 megawatts, with 13000 megawatts sourced from renewable energy, he noted.
The ONEE chief emphasized that renewable energy sourced in southern regions has the potential to make Morocco an international leader in the highly competitive renewable energy market.
In terms of drinking water, Alhafidi explained that prior to the recovery of the southern provinces from Spain, water flow production did not exceed 5000-meter cubes daily. Today, it has reached 160.000-meter cubes daily thanks to the 15 water plants that Morocco has built in recent years.
These massive infrastructure programs have immensely improved the investment climate in the southern regions, he said.
Morocco has been stepping up its efforts to make its southern regions an appealing investment hub, with the government recently unveiling plans to allocate over MAD 300 million ($33 million) to boost infrastructure in the region.
Also Read: Morocco Launches $33 Million Electricity, Drinking Water Projects in Southern Provinces
