While the call for tenders for the construction of the Casablanca-Settat desalination plant is still underway, the Moroccan government has announced the launch of the first phase of the project in mid-2023. According to Nizar Baraka, the Moroccan Minister of Equipment and Water, this part of the project will allow the supply of 200 million m3 of water per year, intended for irrigation and drinking water supply in the cities of Casablanca, Settat, Berrechid, Azemmour and El Jadida. The aim is to reduce the pressure on surface water, whose reserves have fallen drastically due to the drought.
This stage of the project should be completed in 2026. A second phase will extend the capacity of the Casablanca-Settat seawater desalination plant to 300 million m3 per year by 2030, says Minister Nizar Baraka.
The future plant will be located near the centre of Sidi Rahhal, about 40 km southwest of Casablanca. The plant will be supplied from the Bouregreg and Oum Er Rbia basins in Morocco.
An investment of 800 million euros
The National Electricity and Water Office (ONEE) is implementing this desalination project as part of the Priority Drinking Water Supply and Irrigation Programme 2020-2027 (PNAEPI), launched in January 2022. 800 million will be needed to build the future seawater desalination plant in the Casablanca-Settat region. In the meantime, the battle to obtain the concession continues.
At least six consortiums led by several large international groups have formulated offers to ONEE. This is the case of the Suez group, the world specialist in water and environmental management, which has joined forces with the Japanese company Itochu and Navera, the subsidiary of the Moroccan group Al Mada. Among the companies in the running is also the Spanish Abengoa Agua which has joined forces with Engie, the consortium formed by Tedagua, the Chinese Sepco III, Fipar Power Holding of Morocco, and Acwa Power, an IPP based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
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Israeli desalination specialist IDE Technologies has teamed up with Japan’s Mitsui to form a consortium with General Society of Works Morocco (SGTM) and Maghreb Civil Engineering Society (SOMAGEC). The successful bidders will be announced in May 2023.
Inès Magoum