The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has agreed to lend €250m to Morocco’s National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE) to help improve the country’s drinking water network and strengthen water security.
The package includes a €120m committed loan, a second €130m loan that can be released later, and a €5m investment grant. The deal is also the first EBRD loan in the country to be backed by a guarantee from Tamwilcom.
The money will be used to cut water losses, upgrade and expand key water infrastructure, make hydraulic facilities more resilient to climate change and introduce digital systems to manage the network more efficiently.
Engineers will replace old water pipes, install pressure management equipment and use acoustic technology to detect hidden leaks. The aim is to reduce the amount of treated drinking water lost before it reaches homes and businesses.
Funding will also support the modernisation of water treatment plants, pumping stations and water transport pipelines. New storage reservoirs will be built to help meet higher demand during the summer.
The project includes work to protect water infrastructure from droughts and floods. Plans include reinforcing canals, protecting water intake structures from sediment and installing backup power systems for pumping stations.
ONEE will also introduce digital monitoring tools across its network. These include Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, smart flow meters, Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and automated valves. The technology will give operators real-time information on water flow, pressure and quality.
Technical support will run alongside the construction work. The programme will help ONEE introduce climate risk assessments into future infrastructure projects and create a sustainable finance framework that could support future green bonds and other ESG-linked financing. It also aims to improve energy efficiency and lower carbon emissions across pumping stations.
“This investment will also support the long-term transformation of ONEE by integrating climate resilience and sustainability into its governance and financing framework,” said Haytham Eissa, EBRD Director for Morocco.
ONEE is the state-owned utility responsible for producing and supplying electricity and drinking water across urban and rural areas.
The investment forms part of the country’s wider National Water Plan, which focuses on tackling years of drought through better water management, infrastructure upgrades, inter-basin water transfers and the development of alternative water sources.
EBRD has invested more than €6.2bn in the country since 2012, supporting more than 100 projects in the private sector, green transition and sustainable infrastructure.
