Suspicions of conflict of interest: Akhannouch responds to opposition criticism

«The realization of this seawater desalination station project in Casablanca will not receive any financial assistance from the State», insisted the head of government, emphasizing the strategic nature of this initiative. He also cited the interministerial investment commission, which he chairs, and which granted the project the “strategic” label. “The best offer won the project“, he said, specifying that it had been proposed by a tripartite consortium.

It is “an investment of 650 million dirhams, a large sum which has gained the confidence of investors“, he added, before responding to the suspicions expressed by the opposition. According to Aziz Akhannouch, these doubts are linked to the fact that the interministerial investment commission is chaired by the head of government himself. Obviously annoyed, he addressed the opposition deputies in these terms: “Don’t lie to people, this project was the subject of a transparent call for tenders and the State will not provide funding for its completion.»

He also assured that “the price of a liter of desalinated water by the large Casablanca station will be the cheapest» among the proposals of the other candidates. Remember that the call for tenders, launched on November 17, 2024, was won by a consortium composed of Afriquia Gaz, Acciona, and Green of Africa. This project, initiated by ONEE, aims to design, finance, build and operate, for a period of 30 years (including 3 years for construction and 27 years for operation), a seawater desalination station. This station will have a capacity of 548,000 m³ per day (or 200 million m³ per year), expandable to 822,000 m³ per day (300 million m³). m³).

The head of government made these details during the monthly session of the House of Representatives devoted, this Monday, December 16, 2024, to the general policy of the executive. The debates on the desalination plant gave rise to lively exchanges between Aziz Akhannouch and opposition deputies, notably Mustapha Ibrahimi (PJD). The clash lasted around ten minutes, during which Akhannouch defended the transparency and integrity of the tender process.

Read also: Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan launches construction of Casablanca desalination plant, Africa’s largest

During this session, the head of government also took stock of the basic infrastructure built in Morocco over the last 25 years, in the areas of water, irrigation, roads, public works, railways. railway, airports and ports. He announced that 120 billion dirhams will be devoted to investments in these sectors over the next three years. He also mentioned the arrival of the 5G connection in Morocco in 2025, as well as the entry into service of the port of Nador, the construction of which, requiring an investment of 10 billion dirhams, will be completed the same year.

Read also: Sea water desalination: Morocco wants to increase its annual production capacity to 1.9 billion cubic meters in 2030

For their part, opposition deputies considered the results insufficient and criticized the absence of territorial justice, pointing in particular to the lack of attention paid to the rural world. They also raised issues such as unemployment, which reached 13.7%, and gaps in health and social coverage. Driss Sentissi (MP) lamented: “We have hospitals without human capital.» Hassan Lachgar (USFP) and Ahmed El Abbadi (PPS) also insisted on these points, denouncing major failures which, according to them, weaken the development of the country.