The African Development Bank (AfDB) and a Chinese fund have signed two loan agreements with the Moroccan National Office for Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE). The €115 million loan will improve access to drinking water in Morocco. The AfDB provided a loan worth €79.33 million, and the Chinese fund, Africa Growing Together Funds (AGTF) complemented €38 million. Both documents were initialled on 21 December 2018 by the Director General of the National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE), Abderrahim El Hafidi, and Leila Mokadem, the African Development Bank (AfDB) local representative in Morocco.
2.5 million Moroccans will benefit from this project. It is estimated that the figures could even rise to 3.3 million by 2040. The rate of access to safe drinking water in rural Morocco was 96% in 2018. Authorities want to reach 100% in the coming years.
The funding will help finance a programme to ensure the sustainability and security of access to water in the country. Specifically, the works concern the supply of raw water from the “Ghriss” dam to the Al Hoceima treatment plant and the supply of water from the Ibn Battouta dam to the Mharhar treatment plant (Tangier). The programme will also strengthen the water treatment capacity of the Beni Mellal region, the production of water in the Zagora region from the “Agdez” dam, and finally the production of water in the Guercif region (from the “Targa or Madi” dam).
Morocco and the French Development Agency (AFD) also signed a credit agreement worth €50 million at the end of 2018. The amount will be granted to ONEE to improve and expand the quality of drinking water service in the north of the country. Nearly 300,000 Moroccans will benefit from the project.
During the same period, the country took on another debt with the German Public Development Bank (KfW). The 70 million-euro package is expected to help finance three drinking water supply projects.
Luchelle Feukeng