Morocco’s innovative approach to combating water scarcity is gaining global recognition, with plans underway to build Africa’s largest desalination plant in El Jadida province. Doha – Spain is looking to its southern neighbor, Morocco, for inspiration in combating the severe water scarcity that has plagued parts of the country, particularly Catalonia and Andalusia.
According to the Spanish newspaper El Periódico de Catalunya, the Catalan government plans to implement a desalination plant strategy similar to Morocco’s in an effort to alleviate the drought crisis. Morocco has been grappling with water shortages for years, further exacerbated by the lack of rainfall over the past six years. The country’s reservoirs currently stand at a mere 29% of their capacity.
In response, the Moroccan government has implemented various measures to ensure a stable water supply, including cloud seeding and the construction of mobile desalination plants primarily used for agricultural purposes. In June, Morocco’s Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan launched the construction of Africa’s largest desalination plant in the commune of Lamharzi Essahel, El Jadida province. With a projected annual production capacity of 300 million cubic meters, the
plant is expected to serve an estimated 7.5 million inhabitants.
The $653 million project is part of Morocco’s comprehensive strategy to address water scarcity, aligning with the 2020-2027 National Program for Drinking Water Supply and Irrigation. In September, the Wall Street Journal commended Morocco’s innovative approach to mitigating water scarcity by harnessing renewable energy to power advanced desalination plants. The country aims to source 52% of its electricity from renewables by 2030. The Agadir desalination plant, for instance, procures 275,000 cubic meters of water daily, with 150,000 cubic meters allocated for drinking water, sufficient to cover the basic daily needs of one million people. The Safi seawater desalination plant, managed by the OCP Group, is also set to play a crucial role in alleviating the region’s water crisis.Inaugurated in 2022, the plant boasts an annual production capacity of 40 million cubic meters, with plans to increase its output to 30 million cubic meters annually for Safi and an additional 20 million cubic meters for industrial use in the broader Marrakech-Safi region by 2026.
Furthermore, the JorfLasfar seawater desalination plant, operated by OCP Group, is scaling up its production to combat water scarcity in El Jadida and nearby areas. The plant expanded its output to 45 million cubic meters annually by 2022 and is on track to reach a production capacity of 300 million cubic meters by 2026. Despite these efforts, Morocco’s agriculture sector remains vulnerable to water scarcity, with approximately 80% of the cultivated area reliant on rain-fed agriculture as of 2022.
Inspired by Morocco’s holistic water management approach, French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his admiration during a meeting organised by the OCP Group in October, as part of his threeday state visit to the country. Macron stated that France should take inspiration from Morocco’s strategy, which includes water highways and urban desalination projects. As Spain looks to emulate Morocco’s success in tackling water scarcity, Catalonia plans to have the Tordera
II desalination plant in Blanes operational by 2029, with an investment of €290 million.
This expansion is expected to increase the production capacity from 20 to 80 cubic hectometers of water. By 2030, Catalonia aims to have an additional 280 cubic hectometers of water available through its desalination plant strategy.
