The General Director (DG) of Veolia Environment, Estelle Brachlianoff, praised the vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI to overcome the issue of water resource scarcity and to prioritize it as a national priority.
“The water policy is elevated to a high level, thanks to the long-term vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, who has made the issue of water resource scarcity a national priority,” said Ms. Brachlianoff in an interview with MAP, following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Morocco and Veolia Environment regarding the establishment of a strategic partnership in the field of seawater desalination, on the sidelines of the state visit of the President of the French Republic to the Kingdom of Morocco, Emmanuel Macron.
Reflecting on the long history of cooperation between Morocco and Veolia Environment, the DG highlighted the innovative solutions developed for Morocco, particularly to reduce water leaks during water distribution.
Thus, the stage of seawater desalination crowns this collaboration, with Veolia’s realization of the seawater desalination plant in Rabat, which is scheduled to be established in 2028.
“With this memorandum of understanding, Veolia is putting its accumulated expertise and local footprint at the service of the Kingdom to help address climate change and its impact on water resources,” indicated Ms. Brachlianoff.
She noted that this seawater desalination project will be the largest in Africa and the second largest in the world and will secure the supply of drinking water to the affected regions.
“Historically very energy-consuming, we have implemented technologies to reduce the energy consumption of seawater desalination plants by five times, while continuing to improve our performance to reduce the environmental footprint with a better cost-benefit ratio,” Ms. Brachlianoff stated.
According to her, other desalination projects will emerge in the Kingdom, given the environmental challenges, reiterating the group’s commitment to continue its investments in Morocco.
On this occasion, Ms. Brachlianoff highlighted Veolia’s support for Moroccan industries in decarbonization, citing the example of Renault in Tangier, the world’s first zero-carbon automobile factory, and the hazardous industrial waste treatment plant.
“We want to support Moroccan industries, as the Kingdom has significant industrial growth, and ensure that this industrial development is accompanied by economic management of water resources,” she assured.