Morocco Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in morocco, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Water
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Overview

Morocco has experienced annual rain deficits since 2015 causing weak runoffs, a reduction in water supply to dams, and diminished recharge of groundwater. In regions where the demand relies exclusively on local supply systems, successive drought years have caused chronic shortages, and a sustained depletion of groundwater resources. According to the World Resources Institute (WRI), Morocco ranks 27th among countries most at-risk of water shortage. Morocco’s water per capita is currently 565 m3 a reduced from 2,560m3 in the 1960s, according to Minister of Equipment and Water Nizar Baraka. This ratio is expected to decline to 480m3/capita/year by 2030.

The General Directorate of Water, within the Ministry of Equipment and Water, determines governmental priorities and invests in large infrastructure projects such as dams, pipelines, and canal systems. ONEE (the National Office of Electricity and Water) is the national water and electricity utility and a state-owned company. ONEE invests in major strategic and structural projects for potable water and wastewater and also commonly administers public tenders for the sector. In addition to ONEE’s role in the water sector, SRMs (Regional Multiservices companies) across the country (one per region) are responsible for potable water delivery and distribution. 

To rebuild and restore water availability across the country, Morocco implemented a “National Water Plan” in 2020, setting out an ambitious action plan to invest nearly $45 billion into the water sector. In 2024, King Mohammed VI issued instructions to allocate an additional budget in support of the National Program for Drinking Water Supply and Irrigation 2020-2027 (a subset of the National Water Plan).

Leading Sub-sectors

  • Dam Engineering and Construction
  • Desalination Plants
  • Wastewater Treatment and Reuse
  • Water Supply and Distribution
  • Water Security
  • Groundwater Prospection
  • Drinking Water in Rural Areas
  • Water Transfer Networks
  • Management Software
  • Green Infrastructure
  • Training

Opportunities

The funding for the National Water Plan and the National Priority Program for Drinking Water and Irrigation (NPP) received approval in January 2020. The NPP, covering the period of 2020-2027 with a budget of $12 billion, attempts to reduce climate impacts and guarantee water security through:

  • The construction of 40 dams, with a total capacity of 6.98 billion cubic meters. Morocco currently has 152 large dams with a total capacity of 19.1 billion m3 and 140 small/medium dams. In 2025, Morocco plans to launch three new dams with a total capacity of 1.025 billion m3
     
  • The search for new groundwater to strengthen the supply of drinking water (the Ministry of Equipment and Water has committed to funding $80 million while ONEE will contribute $56 million). 
     
  • The construction of three new desalination stations for a total production capacity of 243,300 m3/day. The construction of a desalination plant in Casablanca, which will be the largest such facility in Africa, started in June 2024 with the goal to be operational by 2027. The construction a new seawater desalination plant in Nador, with an expected capacity of 250 million cubic meters per year. These projects aim to reach a production of 1.4 billion m3 of desalinated water/year by 2030.
     
  • A hydro-agricultural development project to safeguard the Saiss plain through the construction of a canal and a water transfer network from the Mdez dam.
     
  • Securing potable water supply in rural areas by ensuring 160 potable water centers are fully equipped, and by upgrading an additional 659 centers to supply around 1.2 million inhabitants. Access to potable water in rural areas is approximately 99 percent for infrastructure and commercial buildings while individual connections do not exceed 47 percent.
     
  • Implementing the Wastewater Reuse for the Irrigation of Green Spaces plan, which includes treating and reusing wastewater in 128 cities and urban centers, as well as connecting more than 1,200 rural areas to wastewater networks. 

A second phase of investment is an extension of the “Priority Water Program”, and will focus on management, treatment, and storage of water. This plan will focus on improving the water supply through: 

  • The construction of dams: building 50 large dams, aiming at increasing storage capacity to 34 billion cubic meters by 2050.
     
  • The connections between hydrographic basins: inter-basin water transfer projects, referred to locally as “water highways,” are a key to component of Morocco’s effort to manage water between areas with more abundant water resources (in northern Morocco) and less abundant water resources (inland and southern Morocco). In 2023, the first connection project opened, linking the Sebou River and Bouregreg River basins, enabling transfers to the Sidi Mohemmed Ben Abdellah dam near the capital, Rabat.
     
  • The desalination of seawater
  • The integration of all rural centers into structured drinking water supply systems.
  • The provision of water resources necessary for the development of sustainable agriculture; and
  • The preservation of ecosystems and the fight against pollution.

Resources