The European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Union (EU)’s financing institution, has provided €20 million ($21.3 million) for schemes to upgrade the environmental operating conditions of seven drinking water treatment plants in northern and central Morocco, including the major Bou Regreg complex serving the cities of Rabat and Casablanca.
This Office National de l’Eau Potable (ONEP)-promoted project will markedly improve the drinking water treatment system by eliminating environmentally hazardous wastewater discharges and ensuring more efficient use of a key natural resource for the well-being of Morocco’s population and economy.
The project is expected to have a substantial environmental impact, justifying the granting of an interest subsidy financed from EU budgetary resources. This fourth EIB loan signed with ONEP brings the total amount advanced by the Bank to this utility to €160 million. It illustrates the importance that the EIB attaches, in common with all EU Member States, to supporting the water sector in Morocco, and complements upstream the Bank’s numerous operations in favor of agricultural irrigation and sanitation projects, so covering all stages of the water cycle. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
