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Acciona wins $875m Casablanca water deal

28 November 2023

A developer team led by Spain's Acciona has won the contract to develop and operate the first phase of a major seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plant in Grand Casablanca.

The proposed Grand Casablanca SWRO project has a design capacity of 548,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d).

The build, operate and transfer contract is for 30 years, including a three-year construction period and 27 years of operation and management.

According to industry sources, the contract is valued at €800m ($875m).

In addition to Acciona, local firms Afriquia Gaz and Green of Africa comprise the consortium that will develop, invest in, build and operate the project.

The team submitted a bid of MD4.48 ($cents43.89) a cubic metre ($c/cm) for the contract, MEED reported in early September.

The other team that submitted a proposal, led by France's Suez, offered a levelised water cost of MD6.5/cm.

One of the three consortiums that participated in the initial tendering process, a consortium led by Israel's IDE, declined to submit a revised proposal for the contract.

Morocco's National Office of Electricity & Drinking Water (Onee) received statements of qualifications for the contract from six teams in June last year.

A consortium of Cid, Novec, LPEE and Mapping Engineering won the contract to study the marine environment and the seawater treatment process for the project last year.

In April last year, Onee appointed US/Indian Synergy Consulting Infrastructure & Financial Advisory as the financial adviser for the project.

Project timeline

MEED understands that Onee expects to complete the commissioning of the plant by 2026.

The project’s second phase, with a capacity of 274,000 cm/d, has a 2030 target completion date. 

Morocco plans to build the world’s largest seawater desalination plant in Casablanca, with a budget estimated at MD9.5bn ($1.05bn), according to a local report in March last year citing Morocco’s Equipment, Transport & Water Minister Abdelkader Amara.

The project aligns with Morocco’s National Water Plan 2020-50 and addresses the country’s scarce water supply.

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Jennifer Aguinaldo

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