meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Morocco leads Maghreb energy transition

11 July 2023

More on Morocco’s power and water sector:

> Morocco seeks firms for 400MW pumped storage contract
> Morocco extends Casablanca water PPP deadline
> US firm plans 2MW Morocco hydrogen project
> China's Tinci plans $280m Morocco lithium-ion plant
> Xlinks to seek construction partners
> Morocco signs $6.4bn electric battery and storage deal
> Morocco tenders 900MW power plant contract

 

Morocco is among the list of Maghreb countries that have seen few deals awarded in the power generation sector over the past 12 to 24 months.

The last contract awards it recorded were in April 2022 for the 333MW first phase of the Noor 2 solar photovoltaic (PV) project.

The Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (Masen) and Morocco’s Energy Transition & Sustainable Development Ministry awarded six packages of this tranche to three independent power producer (IPP) developers: Voltalia Maroc, Enel Green Power Morocco and the UAE-based Amea Power.

Xlinks scheme

The country, however, could emerge from the doldrums with key projects such as the $18bn Xlinks on the horizon, enabling it to hold on to its status as the regional leader in renewable energy.

The Morocco-UK power project entails building 10,500MW solar and wind farms in Morocco’s Guelmim-Oued Noun region and sending 3,600MW a day of energy exclusively to the UK via four 3,800-kilometre high-voltage, direct current (HVDC) cables.

MEED understands the first phase of the surveys for the project is complete, with geophysical and geotechnical surveys expected to finish this year and next year.

The HVDC pipeline will pass through Spain, Portugal and France, where permitting processes are being undertaken. Financing sources could include export credit agencies, multilateral development agencies and commercial or investment banks.

Morocco aims to source up to 52 per cent of its energy – up from the current 32 per cent – from renewable sources and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45.5 per cent by 2030 

Earlier this year, Xlinks completed an early development funding round that included a $30.7m investment from Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) and $6.23m from London-headquartered Octopus Energy Group.  

The UK-based startup is expected to seek interest from original equipment manufacturers and construction partners soon. This will be followed by seeking interest from financial advisers for the project.

Low-carbon molecules

Morocco aims to source up to 52 per cent of its energy – up from the current 32 per cent – from renewable sources and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45.5 per cent by 2030.

Thanks to the country’s strategic location and favourable legislative framework, this ambition is drawing investors focused on green hydrogen and derivatives production.

In April, a team led by China Energy International Construction Group signed a memorandum of cooperation to develop a green hydrogen project in a coastal area in southern Morocco.

The planned project involves constructing an integrated green hydrogen-based ammonia production facility. It will require a solar PV power generation plant with a capacity of 2GW and a wind power plant with a capacity of 4GW.

These plants will supply power to an electrolysis plant that can produce 320,000 tonnes of green hydrogen annually, which will then be processed to produce 1.4 million tonnes of green ammonia annually.

Energy China International Construction Group has partnered with Saudi Arabia’s Ajlan & Brothers Company and the local firm Gaia Energy Company for the project.

Amun project

It is the second high-profile green hydrogen project announced for the North African country since April 2022, when Serbia-headquartered renewables developer and investor CWP Global appointed US firm Bechtel to support developing large-scale green hydrogen and ammonia facilities in the country.

The Amun green hydrogen project, which CWP Global plans to develop in Morocco, is understood to require 15GW of renewable energy and has an estimated budget of between $18bn and $20bn.

Along with these projects – which could take several years to implement – several green hydrogen pilot projects are also under way in Morocco.

Africa-focused transitional energy group Chariot, the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University and UK-based hydrogen electrolyser developer Oort Energy are planning several small projects using a polymer electrolyte membrane electrolyser system patented by Oort.

The three parties will run initial proof of concept projects while evaluating the feasibility of implementing large-scale green hydrogen and ammonia production.

One of the pilot projects is intended to be hosted at the research and development unit at state-owned fertiliser producer OCP Group’s facilities in Jorf Lasfar.

US-headquartered Verde Hydrogen also plans to develop and commission a 2MW green hydrogen electrolyser plant project in Morocco, which it expects to complete next year.

Electric vehicle components

Recent developments also point to Morocco potentially becoming a global hotspot for the electric vehicles supply chain.

In July this year, China’s Guangzhou Tinci Materials Technology announced plans to build a lithium-ion battery materials plant in the country. The project capitalises on Morocco’s ample phosphorite ore resources.

The firm’s Singapore unit is expected to invest as much as $280m to set up a project company in the North African country to produce lithium-ion battery materials that can be exported to Europe.

In late May, the Moroccan government and Chinese-European company Gotion High-Tech also signed a preliminary agreement to establish a factory to produce electric car batteries and energy storage systems in the country.

The project is estimated to cost MD65bn ($6.3bn). The planned facility will have the potential to “create a comprehensive battery production solution” with a capacity of 100GW a year. 

Morocco’s minister-delegate in charge of investment, convergence and evaluation of public policies, Mohcine Jazouli, said the factory “will not only contribute to Morocco’s renewable energy and electric transport sector, but also solidify its reputation as an automotive industry powerhouse”.

Traditional energy

Meanwhile, along with its intense drive towards clean energy, Rabat is also making progress on traditional energy projects. The National Office of Electricity & Drinking Water (Onee) last awarded a thermal power plant deal in 2017. So it was a surprise when Onee recently tendered a five-year contract to build and operate an open-cycle 900MW thermal power plant in the country.

To be located along the M18 station point of the Maghreb-to-Europe gas pipeline, the proposed power generation plant will use dual-fuel gas turbines, with diesel fuel as a backup. Onee expects to receive bids for the contract by 5 September.

In addition, the procurement process is under way for a major seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plant in Grand Casablanca, which has a design capacity of 548,000 cubic metres a day.

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

Making amends

To its credit, however, Morocco’s sustainable campaign has extended to other sectors that have traditionally used carbon-intensive processes and technologies.

The Washington-based International Finance Corporation (IFC) and OCP Group recently signed a €100m ($111m) green loan to build four solar plants to power OCP’s Morocco operations.

The four solar plants, with a combined capacity of 202MW, will be located in the mining towns of Benguerir and Khouribga, home to Morocco’s largest phosphate reserves.

As captive power plants, they will supply clean energy directly to OCP’s operations. The project is part of OCP’s $13bn green investment programme, which aims to increase its green fertiliser production and transition its operations to green energy by 2030.

More on Libya and Tunisia’s power and water sectors:

> Libya awards $1.3bn power plant contract
> Italy and Tunisia start $1bn Elmed prequalifications
> Acciona and Swicorp to develop 75MW wind project
> Suez signs $221m Tunisia wastewater PPP deal
> Tunisia tenders 1GW of solar IPP contracts

Libya and Tunisia

Earlier this year, the state-owned General Electricity Company of Libya (Gecol) awarded a joint venture of Qatar-based construction company Urbacon for Trading & Contracting and Egypt’s ElSewedy Electric an engineering, procurement and construction contract for a 1,044MW gas-fired power plant in Libya.

The contract is valued at €1.19bn ($1.29bn). The project is expected to be completed in 26 months and comprises six gas turbines from Germany’s Siemens Energy. The emergency power plant project is located in Zliten.

The power plant is expected to help address the endemic electricity shortage in the country. However, it does little to reduce Libya’s carbon emissions. At under 10MW, the country has the lowest renewable energy installed capacity in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, against a total capacity of 11,000MW as of 2021, according to International Renewable Energy Agency data.

Tunisia, where renewable sources account for at least 8 per cent of its power generation capacity, has also made minor progress over the past few months.

A team of Spain’s Acciona and Saudi investment group Swicorp have partnered to develop a 75MW wind farm in Chenini in Tunisia’s Tataouine governorate.

The Spanish-Saudi team is understood to have agreed to the technical and financial terms of the project, as well as the land lease for installing 14 wind turbines in Djebel Dahar, located 80 kilometres from Djerba.

Each wind turbine will have a capacity of 6MW. The project will require an estimated investment of TD500m ($164m).

Tunisia’s wind potential is estimated at 8,000MW, according to its wind atlas and a study published in 2021 by the German international cooperation agency Giz.

In January this year, the African Development Bank Group approved a $27m and €10m ($10.67m) loan package to co-finance the construction of a 100MW solar power plant in Kairouan, Tunisia.

The approval covers $10m and another €10m from the bank, and a $17m concessional financing from the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa, a special multi-donor fund managed by the bank.

Additional financing will come from the IFC, the World Bank Group and the Clean Technology Fund (CTF).

The 100MW Kairouan project was part of the first round of solar schemes under Tunisia’s concession regime, launched through an international tender by the Ministry of Industry, SMEs & Cooperatives in 2018.

A consortium formed by Dubai-headquartered Amea Power and TBEA Xinjiang New Energy Company won the contract to develop the scheme in December 2019.

The project is located in El-Metbassta, in the Kairouan North region, about 150km south of the capital, Tunis.

More on Algeria’s power and water sectors:

> Sonatrach seeks solar PV consultants
> Cosider tenders desalination contract
> Sonelgaz tenders 2GW solar schemes
> Wetico wins Algeria water desalination contracts

Algeria

Despite a highly tentative approach to adopting low-carbon energy, there are some promising projects in Algeria.

In March, state-owned utility Sonelgaz invited companies to bid for the contract to build 15 solar plants in the country with a combined capacity of 2,000MW.

The solar projects will be built in 11 locations across the North African state.

The locations and capacities of the proposed solar power plants include:

  • Bechar (Abadla): 80MW
  • Bechar (Kenadsa): 120MW
  • Msila (Batmete): 220MW
  • Bordj Bou Arreridj (Ras al-Oued): 80MW
  • Batna (Merouana): 80MW
  • Laghouat: 200MW
  • Ghardaia (Guerrara): 80MW
  • Tiaret (Frenda): 80MW
  • El-Oued (Nakhla): 200MW
  • El-Oued (Taleb Larbi): 80MW
  • Touggort: 130MW
  • Mghaier: 220MW
  • Biskra (Leghrous): 200MW
  • Biskra (Tolga): 80MW
  • Biskra (Khenguet Sidi Nadji): 150MW

In December 2022, Algeria’s Energy Transition & Renewable Energies Ministry (Shaems) also launched a tender to deploy 1,000MW of solar capacity. However, the status of the tender is unclear as of mid-2023.

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/10991889/main4537.jpg
Jennifer Aguinaldo

Register for MEED's guest program now to access this article.

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Visa agrees to support digital payments in Syria

    5 December 2025

    Visa and the Central Bank of Syria have agreed on a strategic roadmap that will allow the US-based card and digital payments company to begin operations in Syria and support the development of a modern digital payments system.

    Under the agreement, Visa will work with licensed Syrian financial institutions under a phased plan to establish a secure foundation for digital payments.

    The early stages will involve Visa supporting the central bank in issuing Europay, Mastercard and Visa (EMV)-compliant payment cards and enabling tokenised digital wallets – bringing the country in line with internationally interoperable standards.

    Visa will also provide access to its platforms, including near-field communication (NFC) and QR-based payments, invest in local capacity building and support local entrepreneurs seeking to develop solutions leveraging Visa’s global platform.

    “A reliable and transparent payment system is the bedrock of economic recovery and a catalyst that builds the confidence required for broader investment to flow into the country,” noted Visa’s senior VP for the Levant, Leila Serhan. “This partnership is about choosing a path where Syria can leapfrog decades of legacy infrastructure development and immediately adopt the secure, open platforms that power modern commerce.”

    The move marks one of the most significant steps yet in Syria’s slow and uneven return to the formal global financial system and carries implications that reach beyond just payments technology.

    It lays the groundwork for overturning more than a decade of financial isolation in which Syria has operated largely outside global banking and settlement networks.

    Visa’s entry will not erase all existing barriers – as many restrictions remain in force and will continue to shape what is practically possible – but its support signals a reopening of channels that could smooth Syria’s reintegration into financial networks.

    The involvement of the US-based payments provider is also a further tacit sign of the US government’s enthusiastic bear hug of the new post-Assad Syrian government under President Ahmed Al-Sharaa.

    For investors assessing long-term opportunities, the presence of a globally recognised payments operator will provide reassurance that Syria’s financial system is returning to international norms, and the security and transparency that comes with it.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15207198/main.gif
    MEED Editorial
  • Meraas announces next phase of Nad Al-Sheba Gardens

    5 December 2025

    Dubai-based real estate developer Meraas Holding, which is part of Dubai Holding, has announced the eleventh and final phase of its Nad Al-Sheba Gardens residential community in Dubai.

    It includes the development of 210 new villas and townhouses and a school, which will be located at the northwest corner of the development.

    The latest announcement follows Meraas awarding a AED690m ($188m) contract for the construction of the fourth phase of the Nad Al-Sheba Gardens community in May, as MEED reported.

    The contract was awarded to local firm Bhatia General Contracting.

    The scope of the contract covers the construction of 92 townhouses, 96 villas and two pool houses.

    The contract award came after Dubai-based investment company Shamal Holding awarded an estimated AED80m ($21m) contract to UK-based McLaren Construction last year for the Nad Al-Sheba Gardens mall.

    The project covers the construction and interior fit-out of a two-storey mall, covering an area of approximately 12,600 square metres.

    The UAE’s heightened real estate activity is in line with UK analytics firm GlobalData’s forecast that the construction industry in the country will register annual growth of 3.9% in 2025-27, supported by investments in infrastructure, renewable energy, oil and gas, housing, industrial and tourism projects. 

    The residential construction sector is expected to record an annual average growth rate of 2.7% in 2025-28, supported by private investments in the residential housing sector, along with government initiatives to meet rising housing demand.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15206904/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Frontrunner emerges for Riyadh-Qassim IWTP

    5 December 2025

     

    Saudi Arabia’s Vision Invest has emerged as frontrunner for the contract to develop the Riyadh-Qassim independent water transmission pipeline (IWTP) project, according to sources.

    State water offtaker Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC) is preparing to award the contract for the IWTP "in the coming weeks", the sources told MEED.

    The project, valued at about $2bn, will have a transmission capacity of 685,000 cubic metres a day. It will include a pipeline length of 859 kilometres (km) and a total storage capacity of 1.59 million cubic metres.

    In September, MEED reported that bids had been submitted by two consortiums and one individual company.

    The first consortium comprises Saudi firms Al-Jomaih Energy & Water, Al-Khorayef Water & Power Technologies, AlBawani Capital and Buhur for Investment Company.

    The second consortium comprises Bahrain/Saudi Arabia-based Lamar Holding, the UAE's Etihad Water & Electricity (Ewec) and China’s Shaanxi Construction Installation Group.

    The third bid was submitted by Saudi Arabia's Vision Invest.

    It is understood that financial and technical bids have now been opened and Vision Invest is likely to be awarded the deal.

    The Riyadh-based investment and development company made a "very aggressive" offer, one source told MEED.

    In November, the firm announced it had sold a 10% stake in Saudi Arabia-based Miahona as part of a strategy to reallocate capital "towards new and diversified investments".

    The company did not disclose which projects the capital might be reallocated towards.

    As MEED recently reported, Vision Invest is also bidding for two major packages under Dubai's $22bn tunnels programme in a consortium with France's Suez Water Company.

    The Riyadh-Qassim transmission project is the third IWTP contract to be tendered by SWPC since 2022.   

    The first two are the 150km Rayis-Rabigh IWTP, which is under construction, and the 603km Jubail-Buraydah IWTP, the contract for which was awarded to a team of Riyadh-based companies comprising Al-Jomaih Energy & Water, Nesma Group and Buhur for Investment Company.

    Like the first two IWTPs, the Riyadh-Qassim IWTP project will be developed using a 35-year build-own-operate-transfer contracting model.

    Commercial operations are expected to commence in the first quarter of 2030.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15206609/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Adnoc creates new company to operate Ghasha concession

    5 December 2025

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    The board of directors of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc Group) has approved the establishment of a new company to operate the Ghasha offshore sour gas concession in Abu Dhabi waters.

    The decision to create the new entity, to be called Adnoc Ghasha, was taken during a recent meeting of Adnoc Group’s board in Abu Dhabi, which was chaired by Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, UAE President and Ruler of Abu Dhabi.

    Adnoc Group owns and operates the Ghasha concession, holding the majority 55% stake. The other stakeholders in the asset are Italian energy major Eni with a 25% stake, Thailand’s PTTEP Holding, which holds a 10% interest, and Russia’s Lukoil, owning the remaining 10% stake.

    The Ghasha concession consists of the Hail and Ghasha fields, along with the Hair Dalma, Satah al-Razboot (Sarb), Bu Haseer, Nasr, Shuwaihat and Mubarraz fields.

    Adnoc expects total gas production from the concession to ramp up to more than 1.8 billion cubic feet a day (cf/d) before the end of the decade, along with 150,000 barrels a day of oil and condensates. This target will mainly be achieved through the Hail and Ghasha sour gas development project.

    In October 2023, Adnoc and its partners awarded $16.94bn of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts for its Hail and Ghasha project – the biggest capital expenditure made by the Abu Dhabi energy company on a single project in its history.

    Adnoc awarded the onshore EPC package to Italian contractor Tecnimont, while the offshore EPC package was awarded to a consortium of Abu Dhabi’s NMDC Energy and Italian contractor Saipem.

    The $8.2bn contract relates to EPC work on offshore facilities, including facilities on artificial islands and subsea pipelines.

    The Hail and Ghasha development will also feature a plant that will capture and purify carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for sequestration (CCS), in line with Adnoc’s committed investment for a carbon capture capacity of almost 4 million tonnes a year (t/y). The CO2 recovery plant will have a total capacity to capture and store 1.5 million t/y of emissions from the Hail and Ghasha scheme.

    Prior to reaching the final investment decision on the Hail and Ghasha project in 2023, the Ghasha concession partners, led by Adnoc, awarded two EPC contracts worth $1.46bn in November 2021 to execute offshore and onshore EPC works on the Dalma gas development project. The project will enable the Dalma field to produce about 340 million cf/d of natural gas.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15206382/main2754.jpg
    Indrajit Sen
  • Dubai RTA announces Al-Wasl road development project

    5 December 2025

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) has announced the Al-Wasl Road upgrade project, spanning 15 kilometres (km) from the intersection with Umm Suqeim Street to the junction with 2nd December Street.

    The scheme includes upgrading six intersections – Al-Thanya, Al-Manara, Umm Al-Sheif, Umm Amara, Al-Orouba and Al-Safa streets – along with upgrading Al-Thanya Street and constructing five tunnels totalling 3.8km.

    A new tunnel will be built at the intersection with Al-Manara Street. It will consist of three lanes and split into two routes: two lanes from Sheikh Zayed Road to Jumeirah Street and two lanes from Sheikh Zayed Road to Umm Suqeim Street, with a total capacity of 4,500 vehicles per hour.

    The project also includes a 750m-long tunnel on Umm Al-Sheif Street, comprising two lanes from Sheikh Zayed Road to Jumeirah Street, accommodating up to 3,200 vehicles per hour.

    A tunnel will be constructed at the intersection of Al-Wasl Road with Umm Amara Street, featuring two lanes in each direction, with a total length of 700m and a combined capacity of 6,400 vehicles per hour.

    The road will also be widened from two to three lanes in each direction.

    The project is expected to reduce travel times along Al-Wasl Road by 50% and increase capacity from 8,000 to 12,000 vehicles per hour in both directions.

    Planning for growth

    In March 2021, the government launched the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan. Its launch referenced studies indicating that the emirate’s population will reach 5.8 million by 2040, up from 3.3 million in 2020. The daytime population is set to increase from 4.5 million in 2020 to 7.8 million in 2040.

    In December 2022, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, approved the 20-Minute City Policy as part of the second phase of the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan. 

    In addition to the road projects, the RTA’s Dubai Metro Blue Line extension forms part of Dubai’s plans to improve residents’ quality of life by cutting journey times, as outlined in the policy.

    The policy aims to ensure that residents can meet 80% of their daily requirements within a 20-minute journey time, on foot or by bicycle. This goal will be achieved by developing integrated service centres with all necessary facilities and by increasing population density around mass transit stations.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15205950/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal