Although the conditions for the launch of the Tangier water desalination project had already been met, the construction contract signed in February 2023 with the Israeli company Mekorot was unexpectedly cancelled. Instead, the Moroccan government plans to build a water highway in this northern Moroccan city.
The news was announced on Tuesday 26 September 2023. The Tangier seawater desalination plant, which has been eagerly awaited by the residents of this northern Moroccan city, will not be rising from the ground any time soon. The construction contract signed in February 2023 with the Israeli company Mekorot has been cancelled.
In the columns of the newspaper Al Akhbar, the reason for abandoning the water project is clearly stated. “The construction of the desalination plant is currently impossible due to the lack of land”. The plant was intended to supply water to the Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, which is facing persistent water stress.
A water highway, the alternative to desalination in Tangier
The decision to cancel the Tangier water desalination project will also cause economic damage, with certain work halted, in particular the study on the technical and environmental assessment of the plant, which began this year at a cost of 22 million dirhams (around 2.1 million euros).
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Instead of a seawater desalination plant, which requires a strategic site, the Moroccan government will build a water highway to meet the needs of the people of Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima. According to the Moroccan daily Al Akhbar, the motorway will pass through a canal linking the Oued El Makhazine to Ketama, administratively part of Souk Larbaâ, and Bni Garfet to Larache, a province in the Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region.
According to the Moroccan authorities, further details of the Tangier water motorway project will be provided gradually. Will this motorway be similar to the one inaugurated last August to supply the cities of Rabat and Casablanca with water? Nothing is less certain.
Inès Magoum
