Morocco and Veolia, a leading French multinational company specializing in water, waste, and energy management, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Tuesday to establish an exclusive strategic partnership for the development of a seawater desalination project.
The partnership follows President Emmanuel Macron’s recent state visit to Morocco, where both countries committed to strengthening ties and advancing development across various sectors.
In a press release, Veolia emphasized that this project is set to be “the largest in Africa and the second largest globally,” and envisions ensuring “a secure supply of drinking water to regions in the Kingdom that are especially impacted by drought.”
The project, structured as a public-private partnership, will be built near Rabat on the Atlantic coast, with Veolia constructing, financing, and operating a seawater desalination plant for 35 years.
With a daily capacity of 822,000 cubic meters and an annual capacity of 300 million cubic meters, the press release emphasized that the plant is set to supply the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra and Fès-Meknès regions, meeting the water needs of nearly 9.3 million people.
“With a longstanding partnership, we are thrilled and honored to embark on this new chapter alongside the Kingdom of Morocco and Moroccan citizens to tackle environmental and water challenges,” said Estelle Brachlianoff, CEO of Veolia.
Brachlianoff said that they were fully aware of the urgency of the situation and proud to contribute to this major project, which would strengthen the country’s water resilience.
She added that Veolia would bring the best of its international expertise and deep regional presence to support Morocco in delivering a landmark project for performance and sustainability, “establishing a model facility in efficiency, innovation, and environmental responsibility.”
The press release emphasized that Veolia’s operational expertise will also drive high plant performance, optimizing both investment and operational costs to provide the most competitive water price throughout the plant’s lifecycle, adding that the facility can be powered by low-carbon electricity, primarily from renewable sources.
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