Shedding light on the importance of the interconnection of the Oued El-Makhazine and Dar Khrofa dams

Hibapress

A strategic project to address water shortages, the Oued El-Makhazine and Dar Khrofa dam interconnection project aims to secure the supply of drinking water to Greater Tangier and support agricultural activities in the Dar Khrofa irrigated area.

This water highway is part of the National Drinking Water Supply and Irrigation Program (PNAEPI) 2020-2027, implemented in accordance with the High Royal Directives, as a proactive response to the issue of water management which has continued to grow in recent years.

Under construction at a cost of 840 million DH, this interconnection will allow the transfer of a volume of 100 Mm3/year of water to the Dar Khrofa dam, which supplies Greater Tangier with drinking water, indicated Morad El Allagui, head of the engineering department at the Regional Office for Agricultural Development of Loukkos (ORMVAL), which is leading the project under the aegis of the Ministry of Agriculture.

It is also a question of supplying irrigation water to the Dar Khrofa area, over an area of ​​21,000 hectares, key objectives of the effort to secure access to drinking water and manage water stress, explained Mr. El Allagui in a statement to MAP.

This project, the first of its kind in the northern region, includes in particular a pumping station with an equipment flow rate of 3.2 m3 per second, connection, discharge and gravity pipes, added the official, noting that the work was entrusted to Moroccan companies with recognized expertise in the field.

This large-scale project was initiated thanks to the High Guidelines of HM King Mohammed VI, who places the water sector at the heart of his concerns given its essential role in the development and water and food security of the Kingdom.

The ambition of this water highway is thus to meet the growing water needs in Greater Tangier, at a time when the filling levels of the dams do not exceed an average of 28% on a national scale, with an unbalanced distribution between the various hydraulic basins, in a context marked by a succession of years of drought.

Indeed, under the weight of demographic pressure, overconsumption and declining rainfall, the availability of water resources has fallen from 2,560 m3 per inhabitant annually in 1960 to 606 m3 per inhabitant currently.

The PNAEPI 2020-2027 projects, an ambitious program whose total budget has been increased from 115 to 143 billion dirhams, therefore have the major objective of guaranteeing the constant supply of drinking water for the entire population, while meeting irrigation needs.

Furthermore, in accordance with the High Royal Guidelines contained in the Royal Speech on the occasion of the Throne Day and as part of the continued implementation of the Program, projects will be scheduled to address this critical water situation marked by climate change.

This includes accelerating dam construction programs by prioritizing projects located in areas with high rainfall, desalination of seawater to reach a volume of 1.7 MMm3/year, water transfer between the Loukkos basin and Oum Er-Rbia for a volume of 1 MMm3/year and water saving in irrigation and drinking water networks.