Clarifications about Morocco’s increase in credits dedicated to the National Drinking Water Supply and Irrigation Program (PNAEPI) were requested by the press this Friday during the weekly press conference held after of the Government Council.
Asked about this, Mustapha Baitas, spokesperson for the government that is leading the conference, first underlined the fact that his “government has made great efforts to provide drinking waterin these times of water stress and drought that Morocco is going through.
“There is no need to darken the situation further. It is already difficult. The government has found a situation that requires intervention and acceleration of the implementation of several programs“, Launched the government official.
Thus, the government spokesperson outlined some progress made in this direction, indicating that “several new seawater desalination plants have been launched, in particular that of Casablanca which is of great importance, and which will start soon, with a capacity of some 300 million cubes of water per year”.
Another important project has also been launched, Baitas announced. This is the water highway project, which will transfer water from the Moulouya basin to the Bouregreg basin, for a budget of 6 billion dirhams.
“Work is underway (…) We hope to complete it by the middle of 2023. Through this project, we will be able to transfer large quantities of water that fell into the sea and which we do not benefit from. This water will today be exploited in the two axes of Rabat, and probably Casablanca, in addition to several local interventions which cost an additional financial envelope, provided for by the government in the new budget, of some 150 billion dirhams to the horizon 2027 »explained the Minister.
Thus, Mustapha Baitas made a point of emphasizing that “thehe government is working quickly so as not to stop the supply of drinking water to towns and villages, and so that we can also devote water to agriculture and other sectors.“.
It should be recalled that the head of government, Aziz Akhannouch, chaired on Wednesday, in Rabat, the third meeting of the steering committee of the National Drinking Water Supply and Irrigation Program (PNAEPI) for the period 2020-2027. Thus, the funds allocated to it increase from 115 to 150 billion dirhams.
In a press release, it is indicated that the meeting was devoted to the examination of a series of draft resolutions and recommendations, broken down into five axes, indicates a press release released in the afternoon. These include connection between water basins, seawater desalination projects, dam construction projects, awareness programs and governance mechanisms.
The Head of the Executive affirmed the government’s desire to accelerate the implementation of the PNAEPI, “emphasizing the rigor and spirit of responsibility “of the executive” in the face of all forms of waste and anarchic exploitation of water resources“.
Also, he indicated that the guarantee of water security, in the same way as food security for the benefit of all citizens, constitutes a challenge that the government is harnessed to take up in order to face the water stress that our country is experiencing in due to successive years of drought and the depletion of water resources on the surface as well as in groundwater.
This program “has thus been surrounded by particular interest on the part of the government, which has ensured the acceleration of its pace of implementation, particularly with regard to the supply of citizens with drinking water, the projects of interconnection of water basins , as well as projects for dams, desalination of seawater and projects for the reuse of treated wastewater“.