APA – Casablanca (Morocco) – The infrastructure will supply water to 7.5 million people.
On 3 June last year, Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan inaugurated work on Casablanca’s future seawater desalination plant in the Lamharza Essahel commune, south of the city.
This ambitious project will increase Morocco’s drinking water supply capacity with an expected production of 300 million cubic metres per year, benefiting some 7.5 million people.
The project is part of King Mohammed VI’s strategic vision to address water challenges and overcome the kingdom’s rainfall deficit. The desalination plant is an integral part of the National Drinking Water Supply and Irrigation Programme 2020-2027, with a colossal budget of 143 billion dirhams (over 13 billion euros).
Built on a 50-hectare site, the plant will meet the growing demand for drinking water in Greater Casablanca and the towns of Settat, Berrechid and Bir Jdid. The project, which involves an investment of 6.5 billion dirhams through a public-private partnership, will be developed in two phases. The first phase is expected to be operational by the end of 2026, with a capacity of 548,000 cubic metres per day, or 200 million cubic metres per year. The second phase, scheduled for mid-2028, will increase this capacity to 822,000 cubic metres per day, adding a further 100 million cubic metres per year, of which 50 million will be used for agriculture.
This desalination complex, based on the reverse osmosis process, will include an extensive drinking water transport network with three pumping stations, three storage reservoirs and around 130 kilometres of supply pipes. This infrastructure will require public funding estimated at 3 billion Moroccan dirham.
The innovative and modern plant will include two seawater intakes, an outfall, pressure filtration and microfiltration, sludge treatment and a fully automated control centre. The entire plant will be powered by 100% renewable energy sources and the cost of producing drinking water is estimated at 4.48 dirhams per cubic metre.
MN/ te/lb/as/APA