Morocco and France to build largest desalination plant in Africa

On the occasion of the president of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to Morocco, the French company Veolia and the Kingdom of Morocco signed yesterday a MOA for the establishment of a strategic partnership to develop on an exclusive basis a seawater desalination project that will be the largest in Africa and the second largest in the world.

It will supply drinking water to regions of the Kingdom particularly affected by drought.

Desalination plants are energy intensive and destructive to the environment and are often seen as a last chance.

Located near Rabat on the Atlantic coast, a great surfing spot, the project will be structured as a public-private partnership, involving the construction, financing and operation for 35 years, by Veolia, of a seawater desalination plant. With a capacity of 822,000 m3 of drinking water per day, or 300 million m3 per year, it will ensure the supply of the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra and Fès-Meknès regions to meet the water needs of nearly 9.3 million inhabitants.

This initiative is part of the Moroccan national energy strategy, launched by King Mohammed VI, which aims to strengthen water supply security and to face the challenges of climate change.

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As a global leader in water technologies, Veolia will bring the best of its cutting-edge expertise in desalination for a reference plant in terms of efficiency, innovation and environmental protection. Its operational expertise will also ensure high plant performance by balancing investment and operating costs, thus ensuring the most competitive water price over the entire life cycle of the facility. The facility could be powered by low-carbon electricity, mainly from renewable sources.

A desalination plant in Saudi Arabia

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Against a backdrop of climate change, which is particularly affecting the Mediterranean region, this partnership comes at a time when Morocco is facing unprecedented water stress. The country is experiencing its worst drought for 40 years, with rainfall continuing to decline and reservoirs at historically low levels, threatening agriculture, drinking water supplies and, more broadly, the country’s economy. Seawater desalination is therefore becoming an essential solution to these urgent challenges.

Estelle Brachlianoff, CEO of Veolia, said: “With a long history of partnership, we are thrilled and honoured to write this new page with the Kingdom of Morocco and Moroccan citizens to meet the challenges related to the environment and water. We are fully aware of the urgency of the situation and proud to contribute to this major project, which will strengthen the country’s water resilience. We will put the best of our international expertise and our long-standing presence in the region at the service of the Kingdom for a reference project in terms of performance and sustainability.

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