On Tuesday, French transnational company Veolia and the Kingdom of Morocco signed a memorandum of understanding on a strategic partnership to develop an «exclusive seawater desalination project». The project will be the largest in Africa and the second largest in the world, according to a press release sent to Yabiladi. The initiative is part of Morocco's national energy strategy, promoted by King Mohammed VI to «strengthen water supply security and meet the challenges of climate change». This framework was sealed during the three-day visit of French President Emmanuel Macron. The site will be built near the capital Rabat, on the Atlantic coast, as part of a public-private partnership. This includes «the construction, financing and operation by Veolia for 35 years of the desalination plant, with a capacity of 822,000 m3 of drinking water per day, or 300 million m3 per year». The plant will be designed to be «powered by decarbonized electricity, mainly from renewable sources», while «supplying the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra and Fès-Meknès regions, to cover the water needs of nearly 9.3 million inhabitants». «As a world leader in water technologies and a long-standing partner of the Kingdom, Veolia will bring the best of its cutting-edge desalination expertise to a plant that will set the benchmark in terms of efficiency, innovation and respect for the environment», stresses the French company. The project will help «secure the supply of drinking water to regions of the Kingdom particularly affected by drought». Veolia Managing Director Estelle Brachlianoff emphasized the «urgency of the situation», with Morocco experiencing its worst drought in 40 years. She expressed her pride in «contributing to this major project, which will strengthen the country's water resilience». «We will be putting the best of our international expertise and long-standing presence in the region at the service of the Kingdom for a project that will set the benchmark in terms of performance and sustainability», she declared. As part of Emmanuel Macron's visit to Morocco, 70 players from the economic and industrial sectors are part of the 122-member delegation accompanying the President. Among them is Rodolphe Saadé, Director of Institutional and Public Relations for Veolia's Africa - Middle East zone.
