Morocco’s Minister of Water Nizar Baraka stated that by 2030, one out of every two citizens in the Kingdom will receive their drinking water from seawater desalination plants–and that the government is planning to build several additional desalination plants in order to reach a production level of 1.4 billion m3 by that date–, while responding to an oral question at the house of Advisors on Tuesday.
He added that seawater desalination is a priority to the Kingdom amid the water deficit and the drought it is facing, not to mention the repercussions of global warming.
The Minister went on to say that OCP would be in charge of desalinating 560 million m3, emphasizing that 500 million m3 of water will be utilized for agriculture and the remaining amount will be used to provide inhabitants with drinking water.
As part of a public-private collaboration, coastal communities will be outfitted with desalination plants, indicating that they will not benefit from dam water, which will instead be utilized to fulfill the demands of inland cities and rural regions, as well as for irrigation.
The Minister also stated that, in order to address the issue of water scarcity, the government has taken a solidarity-based approach by extending drinking water supply channels and relieving pressure on dams, the water from which will be channeled to inland regions, rural areas, and the agricultural sector.
The desalination plants program is anticipated to solve the current water scarcity issue by 2027, thereby ensuring a 100% supply of drinking water to Moroccan citizens in coastal areas, as well as allocating 100,000 hectares for the production of basic foodstuffs.