Morocco’s seawater desalination plants have reached a production capacity of 192 Mln cubic meters per year, with more than 80 Mln m3 meant for drinking water and the remaining for irrigation or industry, Equipment and Water minister Nizar Baraka said.
Speaking at the House of Councilors’ question time, Baraka underlined that seawater desalination had recently undergone significant development in the kingdom, with several plants built as part of the 2020-2027 National Drinking Water Supply and Irrigation Program.
In details, the minister noted that the desalination plant in Agadir had reached 100 Mln m3/year, with 54 Mln m3 destined for drinking water and the remainder for irrigation.
He also pointed out that the Al Hoceima desalination plant has a capacity of 6 Mln m3, recalling that the Agadir plant began operations in Feb. 2022, as well as the Dakhla seawater desalination plant, which currently supplies 37 Mln m3, including 7 Mln m3 for drinking water and 30 Mln m3 for irrigation.
The Minister also provided an update on the Casablanca seawater desalination plant, construction of which was launched earlier this month.
The plant’s first stage, scheduled for commissioning at the end of 2026, will have a capacity of 548,000 m3 of treated water per day (200 Mln m3 per year), which will be increased to 822,000 m3 per day in the second stage (scheduled for mid-2028), for an additional 100 Mln m3 per year, including 50 Mln for agricultural use, he concluded.