On Monday, low-speed tests began of the water pump system, called the “water highway” from Oued Sebou to the Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah dam near Rabat.
This water transfer system will supply the populations of Rabat and Casablanca with 300 to 400 million cubic meters of drinking water annually and will address the water stress faced by the Kingdom’s two largest urban areas.
The project was carried out by Moroccan companies Société Générale des Travaux du Maroc (SGTM), Société Nouvelle des Conduites d’Eau (SNCE), Société de Travaux Agricoles Marocains (STAM) and Société Maghrébine de Génie Civil et du Conseil en Ingénierie et Développement, a consulting firm reporting to the Ministry of Public Works.
According to Minister of Equipment and Water, Nizar Baraka, the project was completed in one year, instead of the expected four years when the project began.
King Mohammed VI chaired a working session on the 2020-2027 National Program for Drinking and Irrigation Water Supply, during which an additional funding was earmarked to reach 143 billion MAD.
The 2020-2027 National Program puts forth measures such as stepping up the interconnection between the Oued Sebou, Bouregreg, and Oum Er-Rbia basins, building new dams and refurbishing old ones, to increase the storage capacity by 6.6 billion cubic meters of fresh water.
Given the current climatic and water stress situation, the Monarch also ordered the activation of the program’s emergency measures to address the side effects of drought.