ADB hails Morocco’s water strategy as model for Africa

The African Development Bank (ADB) has praised Morocco’s innovative water management strategy, highlighting it as a blueprint for other African nations facing growing water scarcity.

At the center of this initiative is a groundbreaking project at the Al Massira dam—Morocco’s second-largest water reservoir—located about 75 miles from Marrakesh. Engineers have constructed a unique intake system by drilling into the dam to channel drinking water directly to Marrakesh via pipeline. The system will deliver water at a rate of seven cubic meters per second and is the first of its kind on the continent.

The engineering achievement involved a team of Moroccan and international experts, including engineers, divers, and technicians, and is widely regarded as a major technical success.

Funded as part of a €150 million African Development Bank program, the project aims to improve access to safe drinking water for Marrakesh’s two million residents by 2030.

The ADB has lauded the project as a proven success and believes it can be replicated in other parts of Morocco and across Africa.

As Africa faces rising temperatures and increasing vulnerability to climate change, securing reliable access to water remains one of the continent’s most urgent challenges.