A new seawater desalination plant opened on Tuesday in El Guerguerat in the southwest of the Sahara, commemorating the 48th anniversary of the Green March.
Funded by the Economic, Social and Cultural Development Agency for the Southern Provinces to the tune of 26 million MAD and with 4 million MAD from the National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE), the project involves the construction of a new well and a seawater desalination facility with a capacity of 432 cubic meters per day, a 200 cubic meter high tank, and a distribution pipeline network over 5 kilometers.
Construction of the project started in November 2021, and it will improve the water supply for the population of the Sahara area through local desalination and high-quality water trucks as part of phase one. Phase two involves the construction of a drinking water distribution network, with work expected to start in 2024.
Head of ONEE Abderrahim El Hafidi, the Governor of the Province of Aousserd, َAbderrahmane El Jaouhari, and the Director General of the Agency for the Promotion of the Southern Provinces (APDS), Jabran Reklaoui, inaugurated the plant.
ONEE has already completed a series of drinking water and liquid sanitation projects in response to growing demand for these basic services. From 1973 to 2013, ONEE has invested a total of 8.7 billion MAD in these areas.
By 2027, a total of 2.9 billion MAD is expected to be invested in the southern provinces, specifically in the areas of drinking water and liquid sanitation.
El Guerguerat is approximately 11 km from the border with Mauritania and 5 km from the Atlantic Ocean, and the El Guergarate crossing point is used to export and import goods to sub-Saharan countries.