Nizar Baraka, Morocco’s Minister of Equipment and Water, chaired a meeting at the General Directorate of Water Engineering on Friday in Rabat to review water projects set to be implemented in line with the Royal directives outlined in the Throne Day speech.
During the meeting, Minister Baraka urged the directors of water basin agencies to devise a precise action plan to achieve the outlined goals. He called for mobilizing all stakeholders to ensure the completion of scheduled projects.
The projects include completing the program for constructing major dams and accelerating their implementation based on new priorities, as well as water transfer projects between the Laou, Loukkos, Sebou, and Oum Er-Rbia basins to the Al Massira Dams.
The Minister also emphasized the need for prompt implementation of projects focused on dam interconnection to enable integrated and efficient water resource management across basins. He also called for developing a comprehensive program to build seawater desalination plants in collaboration with the National Office of Electricity and Potable Water (ONEE) and other stakeholders.
Efforts will be made to increase the volume of treated wastewater by 2030 and to encourage its use in agriculture, industry, and tourism, in coordination with the Ministry of the Interior.
Baraka highlighted the importance of completing groundwater contracts and collecting data on groundwater resources. He stressed the need to update the national water strategy to address the impacts of climate change, evolving water needs, and the status of groundwater.
Upcoming meetings with all stakeholders will focus on combating water waste and optimizing potable and irrigation water use by adopting rehabilitation programs for pumping channels and drip irrigation techniques. The plan also includes strengthening water police with the necessary human and financial resources, in close coordination with local authorities and the Royal Gendarmerie.
The training of engineers and technicians in unconventional water fields (seawater desalination, treated wastewater reuse, renewable energies) will be integrated into the curriculum at the Hassania School of Public Works (EHTP) and technical training institutes under the Ministry.
The meeting was attended by central directors from the General Directorate of Hydraulic Engineering, basin agency directors, the EHTP director, and the Ministry’s Human Resources Director.