Sefrou: Construction work on the Madaz dam nears completion
Heba Press
Construction work on the Madaz dam, located 58 kilometers southeast of the city of Sefrou, has reached its final phase, thus completing a vast project that is part of the preparation of the Upper Sebou basin.
Construction work on the water facility was scheduled to be completed by the end of October 2024, but its two reservoirs were filled with water by the end of February 2024.
The acceleration of the pace of work, in accordance with the royal directives aimed at speeding up water-related projects, has saved eight precious months. The advancement of the pace of implementation of this project confirms the importance of water resource management in the region.
According to the dam officials, the capacity level of this facility reached 745 (global level for Morocco) after receiving the first loads at the end of August, which represents approximately 8 million cubic meters of stored water, which is an encouraging first step towards achieving the objectives set for this dam.
Authorities also noted that recent rainfall recorded in the region on August 27-28 last year allowed collecting a load of up to 3 million cubic meters.
In a statement to the Maghreb Arab Agency, Abdelaziz Naji, head of the preparation of the Medaz dam, confirmed that the project is part of the preparation of the Upper Sebou basin and responds to the urgent needs to resolve the problem of excessive exploitation of the Upper Sebou basin. water brush on the Sais plain.
Mr. Al-Naji explained that MADAZ is a dam-dam with a concrete mask, with a maximum height above the foundations of 109 meters and a volume of 2.6 million cubic meters.
The volume of the dam’s reservoir, which is 700 million cubic meters, would contribute to achieving three main objectives: irrigating the Sais region by diverting 125 million cubic meters per year, protecting the Allal Al-Fassi dam located at the bottom of the dam, and supplying drinking water to neighboring centers.
Mr. Naji also reviewed the facilities attached to the dam, namely the temporary diversion, the cargo unloader, the bottom unloader and the water outlets.
The dam preparation director confirmed that the works were almost completed with a budget of around 1.6 billion dirhams, noting that the entire project was carried out by a Moroccan team.
The Madaz dam is part of a vast hydraulic development program for the Sebou basin. This program aims to secure the irrigation of the Gharb and Sais plains, to supply urban centers and industrial units with drinking water, to produce hydroelectric energy and to protect low-lying regions from flooding.
The Madaz dam completes an existing network of hydraulic infrastructures (Oued Sebou), whose total capacity exceeds 5.7 billion cubic meters.
In addition to its basic tasks, this water facility will have significant development impacts in the region, as it created approximately 400,000 working days during the construction period, as well as the qualification of the local workforce.
The project also plans to break the isolation of neighboring neighborhoods by diverting regional road No. 5016, which will be flooded, and to develop ecotourism by exploiting the injection of the dam.
Given that the implementation of a project of this nature is not without repercussions on the local environment, special measures have been taken, including compensating the rights holders for the expropriation of land and rehabilitating damaged infrastructure. These measures aim to ensure a fair transition for the local population affected by this project.
