OPEC fund loans Morocco $ 15 mln for water supply project

The OPEC Fund for International Development Loaned Morocco US$ 15 Million to help finance a water supply project, the fund said in a release.

The project aims at alleviating water shortages along the country’s coastal area between Rabat and Casablanca. Once completed, the scheme is expected to boost drinking water supplies by some 100m3, the release goes on.

Part of the project, the Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdullah dam, situated on the Bouregreg River some 10 km from Rabat, will be raised by approximately 7.5 meters through the installation of a second 42 km-long spillway, more than doubling its current storage capacity.

Morocco has been the recipient of the OPEC Fund financing on ten previous occasions, with loans supporting projects in the sectors of energy, agriculture and national development banks. The kingdom has also benefited from technical assistance grants; one towards a regional program in the area of agriculture and another to help finance a pilot wind energy project.

The loan agreement was signed this Wednesday in Vienna by Morocco’s ambassador to Austria, Tajeddine Baddou, and chairman of the governing board of the OPEC Fund, Saleh A. Al Omair.