The Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan inaugurated, on Monday, June 10, in the Lamharza Essahel Commune, El Jadida province, the construction site of the seawater desalination plant in Casablanca. This infrastructure, the largest in Africa, aims to produce 300 million m³ of water annually, meeting the needs of 7.5 million inhabitants.
This project reflects the royal interest in the strategic issue of water, particularly in the current context marked by a significant rainfall deficit and strong pressure on conventional water resources in various regions of Morocco. It is an integral part of the “Improvement of Water Supply” axis of the National Drinking Water Supply and Irrigation Program 2020-2027, launched in 2020 by King Mohammed VI, with a total cost expected to reach 143 billion dirhams.
The station, designed to meet the growing water demand of Greater Casablanca and neighboring cities such as Settat, Berrechid, and Bir Jdid, will be carried out in two phases on a 50-hectare site, with a total investment of 6.5 billion dirhams, thanks to a public-private partnership. The first phase, operational by the end of 2026, will provide 548,000 m³ of treated water per day, or 200 million m³ per year. The second phase, scheduled for mid-2028, will increase this capacity to 822,000 m³ per day, with an additional 100 million m³ per year, of which 50 million will be for agricultural use.
This project includes a reverse osmosis desalination unit and a drinking water transport system, including three pumping stations, three storage reservoirs, and a distribution network of nearly 130 kilometers.
The cost of this transport system is estimated at 3 billion dirhams, funded by public funds. The station will use two seawater intake pipes of 1,850 meters, a discharge outfall of 2,500 meters, pressure filters, microfilters, a sludge treatment unit, a control and management center, as well as a storage reservoir.
The cost of producing drinking water is estimated at 4.48 dirhams/m³. The station will be fully powered by renewable energy and its management will be automated.