Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

Morocco gets $188m to build three desalinisation plants

By Pramod Kumar
Morocco's desalination plants will provide water for OCP Group’s industrial sites and drinking water for the towns of Safi and El Jadida Unsplash.com/Engin Akyurt
Morocco's desalination plants will provide water for OCP Group’s industrial sites and drinking water for the towns of Safi and El Jadida

Moroccan fertiliser company OCP Group has secured $188 million worth of funding to build three new seawater desalinisation plants as part of the government’s emergency plan for drinking water supply.

The state-backed company signed an agreement with the African Development Bank (AfDB) to fund its green investment programme.

The construction of the new desalinisation plants will be funded through $150 million from AfDB, $18 million from the Canada-African Development Bank Climate Fund and $20 million from the World Bank-backed Clean Technology Fund.

The plants will have a total annual capacity of 110 million cubic metres, and provide unconventional water to the OCP Group’s industrial and mining sites.

Up to 75 million cubic metres of drinking water will be provided for the towns of Safi and El Jadida and the areas around the OCP’s Safi and Jorf plants. The move will benefit over 1.5 million people.

“The project will also help to optimise water-resource management in the OCP Group’s industrial activities by using desalinated seawater,” said AfDB country office manager for Morocco Achraf Tarsim.

Karim Lotfi Senhadji, finance director of OCP Group, added that the company’s sustainability objectives include achieving 100 percent renewable energy by 2027, self-sufficiency in green ammonia by 2032 and full carbon neutrality by 2040.

AfDB has invested over $13 billion across various sectors in Morocco since 1978.

Latest articles

Workers at Egypt's Zohr gas facility. It is unclear if the drop in output is due to technical issues or lack of investment

Egypt plans to restore full gas output in 2025

Egypt plans to restore its natural gas production to normal levels by June 2025, the prime minister has said.  The country has become a net importer of fuel amid declining domestic output and increasing energy demand.  Falling output from Zohr – Egypt’s largest natural gas field developed by Eni of Italy – led to daily […]

Saudi petrochemical

Second-half slide expected for Saudi petrochemical industry

With higher shipping and logistic rates and stable prices of raw materials, Saudi petrochemical producers are likely to report lower earnings in the second half of the year, an expert has said. The companies reported margin peaks in the second quarter of the year, but they are likely to face pressures on profit margins in […]

G42 Nvidia

G42 links with Nvidia to launch climate tech lab

The UAE-based artificial intelligence company G42 has formed a partnership with Nvidia, the US computer chip giant, to set up a climate tech laboratory in Abu Dhabi, aimed at better predicting the weather using AI. In what is Nvidia’s first partnership with the UAE company, the lab will “serve as a hub for research and […]

Saudi Arabia’s new investment of $5bn will be separate from its deposits with the central bank, Egypt's prime minister Mostafa Madbouly said

Egypt explores new mega deals like Ras El-Hekma

Egypt is planning new developments along the Red Sea coast, with at least five new areas identified for deals similar to Ras El-Hekma, prime minister Mostafa Madbouly has said. The UAE sovereign fund ADQ unveiled plans in February to invest $35 billion to build the “largest new city” in Egypt to promote tourism and drive […]