Severe drought has taken its toll on Morocco's water resources
Morocco calls for PPP in seawater desalination projects
Minister of equipment and water says the government is willing to speed up the development of non-conventional water resources in order to achieve water security in drought-hit Morocco.
Monday 16/05/2022
Severe drought has taken its toll on Morocco's water resources
MARRAKECH - Morocco’s minister of equipment and water Nizar Baraka said Friday that the government was willing to speed up the development of non-conventional water resources, including the process linked to the desalination of seawater as the North African kingdom is suffering from one of its worst droughts in decades.
During his participation in the second edition of the Business dialogue organised by the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (CGEM) in partnership with the Moroccan Coalition for Water (COALMA) in Marrakech, Baraka highlighted the importance of the planned seawater desalination in Casablanca with a capacity of 3 million cubic metres a year, which would help the Marrakech and Tensift regions benefit from a substantial quantity of water from Al Massira dam.
CGEM president Chakib Alj called for the use of non-conventional water through sustainable seawater desalination technologies using renewable energies, or the reuse of treated wastewater through public-private partnership.
“All this can be achieved through governance of the water sector ensuring the upstream involvement of the private sector and other stakeholders in planning policies, or even the use of innovative financing methods through public-private partnership or a purely private investment for certain projects,” said Alj.
Minister of Trade and Industry Ryad Mezzour said that the fall in the cost of renewable energies could contribute to the competitiveness of water desalination processes.
Morocco has been hit hard by its worst drought in almost 40 years , raising fears of a severe shortage of drinking water this year, a consequence of climate change and inefficient water management.
On March 4, Baraka warned that the drop in water reserves in Morocco's main dams threatened the regularity of the drinking water supply in a number of Moroccan cities, including Marrakech, Nador and Casablanca.
“The situation in the southern region of Casablanca is particularly critical,” he warned, adding that this situation required an urgent program from his ministry in order to connect the drinking water network of the north of Casablanca to that of the south of the metropolis in order to avoid water cuts.