MOROCCO: Tangier approves €2.1m for the study of a desalination plant

The study on the Tangier seawater desalination project was approved on 3 October 2022. This was during the ordinary session of the Tangier Regional Council in Morocco in October. This part of the project will be financed to the tune of 22 million dirhams (approximately 2.1 million euros) in accordance with an agreement approved between the Tangier Regional Council, the Moroccan Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Public Works and Water, the wilaya of Tangier and the Loukkos Water Basin Agency (ABHL).

The work to be carried out between 2023 and 2024 will focus on the technical and environmental assessment of the project. This study will be followed by several other steps, including the selection of the project contractor, as well as the launch of the construction of the Tangier seawater desalination plant.

The future plant should strengthen the supply of drinking water in Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima. The region, with a population of nearly 3.7 million, is facing drought, which is causing water stress. Hence the choice of sea water desalination as an alternative. This approach also aims at preserving the groundwater resources which tend to be exhausted.

Read also – MOROCCO: Work on the Casablanca desalination plant to start in mid-2023

The Tangier seawater desalination plant will be built as part of the National Programme for Drinking Water Supply and Irrigation (PNAEPI) 2020-2027. This Moroccan government initiative, launched in 2020, will also accelerate investments to strengthen the supply of drinking water and irrigation in the areas most affected by water stress in Morocco. Barely 500 m³ of fresh water will be available per capita per year in Morocco in 2022, compared to 2,500 m³ in 1960 according to the United Nations (UN).

Inès Magoum