Riyadh: Morocco’s Head of Government, Aziz Akhannouch, asserted on Tuesday in Riyadh that managing water resources is a strategic priority for Morocco, under the permanent personal supervision of HM King Mohammed VI. This initiative is reflected in the Sovereign’s numerous Speeches and High Guidelines.
According to Agence Marocaine De Presse, the Head of Government, representing HM the King at the ‘One Water’ Summit in the Saudi capital, highlighted that the Kingdom has allocated over $14 billion to implement a national program aimed at ensuring access to drinking and irrigation water. This comprehensive and innovative approach has enabled Morocco to secure a strategic water reserve.
The program’s primary goals include implementing projects that connect water basins, such as establishing a water highway linking the north and center of the Kingdom. Morocco has successfully completed the first phase of this project, connecting the Sebou and Bouregreg basins with a water conveyance capacity averaging one milli
on cubic meters per day.
Another significant goal is the development of seawater desalination projects. Morocco has already built 14 stations, including those in Agadir and Dakhla, and plans to accelerate the construction of 16 additional stations. Notably, stations in Casablanca and Rabat are to be built under a public-private partnership, aiming to expand the overall desalination capacity from the current 254 million cubic meters to 1.7 billion cubic meters annually by 2030.
Furthermore, the Head of Government emphasized promoting non-conventional water resources, particularly the reuse of treated wastewater for irrigating green areas in cities like Rabat, Marrakech, and Agadir.
Akhannouch also highlighted the promotion of water-saving irrigation systems as a crucial goal. Through the Green Morocco Plan, the Kingdom has equipped approximately one million hectares with irrigation systems, including over 650,000 hectares with drip irrigation systems, conserving over 2 billion cubic meters of irrigation wat
er. The ‘Generation Green’ strategy aims to extend drip irrigation to one million hectares by 2030.
The fifth goal involves enhancing the dam policy to boost water supply. Since the 1960s, Morocco has adopted this strategy, resulting in significant water infrastructure comprising 154 large dams with a capacity of over 20 billion cubic meters. An additional 17 dams are currently under construction, which will increase the total storage capacity to 25 billion cubic meters by 2030.
Despite these advances, Akhannouch acknowledged that Morocco faces ongoing challenges and constraints in managing water stress. Overcoming these issues requires serious and responsible commitment, participative action, and strengthening innovative investments and public-private partnerships.