The Canada-African Development Bank Climate Fund (CACF) has just approved an $18 million loan to Office Chérifien des Phosphates (OCP Group). This funding will support the construction of new seawater desalination plants in the provinces of El Jadida and Safi, with a view to improving the supply of drinking water in the face of drought.
Funding of $18 million is now available to improve the supply of drinking water in El Jadida and Safi in Morocco, using seawater desalination. The Office chérifien des phosphates (OCP Group), which will build new desalination plants in these provinces, has just obtained this funding from the Canada-African Development Bank Climate Fund (CACF), set up to support projects to combat climate change in Africa.
This concessional loan is part of an overall envelope of $36.3 million approved on 7 November 2023 by the CACF for two climate resilience projects. The second project concerns the rehabilitation and expansion of the Autonomous Port of Cotonou in Benin for more sustainable practices in port operations.
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The funding granted to OCP will make it possible to set up a desalination capacity of 75 million m3 of seawater per year to supply the population. The 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), and to the Safi autonomous intermunicipal water and electricity distribution company (RADEES).
OCP will produce 10 million m3 for RADEES and 30 million m3 for RADEEJ before the end of 2023. Between 2024 and 2025, the volume destined for RADEES will reach 15 million m3 per year and 32 million m3 per year for RADEEJ. From 2026, these volumes will rise to 30 million m3 per year for RADEES and 45 million m3 per year for RADEEJ. The Group was awarded this concession on 5 July 2023. The seawater will be desalinated by its subsidiary OCP Green Water.
In addition, 35 million m3 of drinking water will be produced per year to supply OCP’s industries, making a total of 110 million m3 per year. The work is being carried out as part of the phosphate fertiliser producer’s 2023-2027 “Green Investment Programme”. The programme, worth 130 billion Moroccan dirhams (€11.6 billion), is based on financing projects focusing on water, renewable energies and agro-ecology, with the aim of limiting the environmental impact of OCP’s mining sites in Benguérir, Boucraâ-Laâyoune and Youssoufia in Morocco.
Inès Magoum
