Morocco to Build Massive Desalination Plant in Casablanca by 2027

Morocco, with 3,500 km of coastline, has been experimenting with seawater desalination in the Saharan provinces since the 1970s, says Minister of Equipment Abdelkader Amara, as quoted by L’Économiste. The national water plan provides for the installation of a desalination plant in the city of Casablanca, with a production capacity of 300 million cubic meters per year. It should be "operational by 2027 and could cost 9.5 billion dirhams, excluding land," says the minister, who affirms that it will be "the largest station in Africa and in the world." This station will make it possible to "manage the water supply to Casablanca coming from the Oum Rabi basin, which is already in deficit, and will also be used to supply Marrakech and the agricultural area of Doukka," adds the minister.

"For now, we have built a small desalination plant in Al Hoceima with a capacity of 6 million cubic meters per year," the minister informs, announcing the imminent completion of the large Agadir Chtouka Ait Baha desalination plant, with a capacity of 144 million cubic meters per year, and that of Dakhla, as well as "the extension of the desalination of Laâyoune, Tan-Tan, Sidi Ifni, in addition to several demineralization plants, with more or less the same system." With all these infrastructures, Morocco can "reach 1 billion cubic meters of desalinated water by 2050 for non-conventional water related to desalination," says Abdelkader Amara, stressing that "we are at 40 or 50 million cubic meters, including drinking water and industrial water used by OCP."