With a total cost of 4.41 billion dirhams (MMDH), including 2.35 billion for the irrigation component and 2.06 MMDH for drinking water, this hydraulic infrastructure represents an innovative alternative to stem the water deficit and offer a new solution in terms of water resources.
Enabling the production of desalinated water, shared equally between drinking water and irrigation water, the station ensures the irrigation of 15,000 hectares in the Chtouka plain by desalinating seawater as a substitute for groundwater and thus benefits 1,500 farms.
As part of efforts to safeguard the water table, this hydraulic structure also contributes to the drinking water supply of Greater Agadir, given the insufficient supply of conventional resources.
This ambitious project, the implementation of which was launched in 2017, is the result of the pooling of efforts and resources between the Ministry of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development and Water and Forests, the National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE) and institutional and professional partners as well as regional and provincial authorities.
The head of the operations department at the Southern Regional Directorate of ONEE, Khalid Bel Ferda, stressed that this large-scale installation, the first of its kind in Africa, supplies the Greater Agadir region (Agadir Ida-Outanan and Inezgane Ait Melloul) with drinking water and the Chtouka Ait Baha region with irrigation water.
The commissioning of this desalination unit has made it possible to produce 275,000 m3/day at a flow rate of 150,000 m3/day of drinking water and 125,000 m3/day of irrigation water, he specified in a statement to MAP, indicating that ONEE is considering extending the station to increase its capacity to 400,000 m³/day by 2026.
To meet the challenges posed by the water issue, in accordance with the High Royal Guidelines, a series of strategic projects was launched within the framework of the National Drinking Water Supply and Irrigation Program (PNAEPI) for an execution period ranging from 2020 to 2027 and an initial cost of 115 billion dirhams.
This program involved, among other things, the construction of 9 new seawater desalination plants for a total capacity of 202 Mm3/year to secure the drinking water supply of the population of the cities of Agadir, Safi, El Jadida, Al Hoceima, Laâyoune and the launch of work on 6 desalination plants for a total capacity of 360 Mm3/year to mainly secure the water supply in Casablanca, Marrakech, Sidi Ifni, Dakhla, Settat, Berrechid, Khouribga, Ben Guérir and Youssoufia.
In addition, a new major program of 8 seawater desalination plants with a total capacity of more than 1,130 million m3/year will be launched shortly to secure the supply of drinking and agricultural water, particularly in the Regions and provinces of Oriental, Souss-Massa, Tangier, Rabat, Guelmim, Tan-Tan, Boujdour and Tarfaya.
2024-08-30 09:53:26