The controversy over granting a deal to two companies owned by Aziz Akhannouch, Prime Minister, and a Spanish company, reached Parliament today, Monday, during the oral questions session in the House of Representatives, after the issue was raised by the parliamentary group of the Justice and Development Party. The National Rally of Liberals responded to this, declaring its support for the Prime Minister.
A Justice and Development parliamentarian said, “It is good to mobilize financial resources for water projects,” adding that, “On Friday, he announced a deal worth 15 billion dirhams for the benefit of the prime minister’s companies, in a conflict of interest and a blow to governance,” she said.
The National Rally of Independents team responded to the parliamentary intervention, and a parliamentarian for the team said, “The Prime Minister adhered to the regulatory law for the conduct of government work, especially Article 33 thereof, and issued an official statement after assuming the position of prime minister, as he began the process of withdrawing from all family holding positions.”
The spokesman added, “Today we come and say irresponsible things about a Moroccan company that entered and competed for an international request for tenders characterized by transparency.”
The parliamentarian added, “The companies are Moroccan and we are proud of them,” adding, “At a time when we should be proud of success, we fight it, and at a time when we should be proud of Moroccan companies, we come to fight them to cover up our failure for 10 years.”
It is noteworthy that an alliance of two companies owned by Aziz Akhannouch, Prime Minister, and a Spanish company, won the contract to build, manage and maintain the huge water desalination plant in Casablanca, which will have a capacity of 548 thousand cubic meters per day and will include investments amounting to about 800 million euros.
According to the official Spanish news agency EFE, an alliance consisting of two companies owned by the Prime Minister, namely “Africa Gas” affiliated with Holding “Aqua” and “Green of Africa”, in addition to a Spanish company called “Acciona”, obtained a contract to build and maintain the largest desalination plants. Water in the Kingdom, which will be established 40 kilometers from Casablanca.
While this was not officially announced in Morocco, the Spanish news agency attributed the news to a Moroccan source, and explained that this station was presented as the largest water desalination station in Africa with a capacity of 548 thousand cubic meters per day, and will include an investment of about 800 million euros, and it is designed to respond to drinking water needs. For an area with a population of about seven million people and ensuring irrigation of more than 5,000 hectares.
Among the goals of the Moroccan Ministry of Equipment and Water, which manages these plants, is water desalination as a solution to managing the country’s water resource deficit due to drought and the climate crisis.
In addition to the Casablanca plant, which is scheduled to be operated in two phases in 2026 and 2030, the ministry intends to launch the construction of two other desalination plants in El Jadida and Safi.
The goal is to go from nine current plants (147 million cubic meters per year) to twenty by 2030 with a capacity of more than 1,000 million cubic meters.
