La nueva planta desaladora de El Aaiún arrancará a finales de año

Laayoune has begun the installation of a large water desalination plant, a new infrastructure which aims to desalinate sea water to transform it into drinking water and supply it to the population of Laayaoune.

The director general of Morocco's National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (Onee), Abderrahim El Hafid, announced that before the end of 2021, the desalination plant will be able to supply the population of Laayaoune with drinking water on a daily basis.

In a statement released by the MAP Agency, El Hafid stressed that the project "will have a very great positive impact on the economic and development dynamics of these provinces". 

In addition, he pointed out that the National Directorate of Electricity and Drinking Water 'ONEE' programmed the second part of the project at a financial cost of 300 million Dirhams, which translates to about 35 million euros.

Similarly, the director general of ONNE stressed that the new infrastructure will allow "raising the total production capacity of drinking water to 60,000 cubic metres per day", in addition to having "three storage tanks with a total capacity of 5,500 cubic metres to meet the water needs of the population of El Marsa, Foum El Oued and Tarouma, until 2035," according to Rue20. 

Coastal wells are also being drilled to supply the new plant, which is expected to produce 2,600 cubic metres of drinking water per day.