Morocco is set to receive a loan of US $18M to develop seawater desalination plants in the provinces of El Jadida and Safi.
The Canada-African Development Bank Climate Fund (CACF) approved the loan in bid to improve the supply of drinking water in the face of drought conditions. The bank plans to establish a desalination capacity of 75 million cubic meters (m3) of seawater per year to supply the local population.
The desalinated drinking water will be sold to the Autonomous inter-municipal authority for water and electricity distribution and management of the liquid sewage network in the provinces of El Jadida and Sidi Bennour (RADEEJ), as well as to the Safi autonomous intermunicipal water and electricity distribution company (RADEES).
READ:New crude oil grade launched in Nigeria
Targeted output
OCP Group will produce 10 million m3 for RADEES and 30 million m3 for RADEEJ before the end of 2023. The volumes destined for these two entities will increase in the following years, with 15 million m3 per year for RADEES and 32 million m3 per year for RADEEJ between 2024 and 2025. After 2026, the volumes will further rise to 30 million m3 per year for RADEES and 45 million m3 per year for RADEEJ.
OCP Group was awarded this concession on July 5, 2023, and the seawater desalination will be carried out by its subsidiary, OCP Green Water. The project will additionally produce 35 million m3 of drinking water per year to supply OCP’s industries. In total, this project will provide 110 million m3 of water per year.
Green Investment Programme: This initiative is part of OCP’s “Green Investment Programme” for 2023-2027. The program focuses on financing projects related to water, renewable energies, and agro-ecology to reduce the environmental impact of OCP’s mining sites in Morocco.
