Construction has begun on the Casablanca seawater desalination plant, the largest plant of its kind in Africa.

Sponsors Acciona Agua, Green of Africa, and Afriquia Gaz are constructing the project under a public-private partnership ( PPP ) contract with the National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water of Morocco. Clifford Chance acted as legal adviser to the sponsors while Deloitte served as financial adviser.

With a total investment of €613 million ( US$719.8 million ), the project is being financed by Fondo para la Internacionalización de la Empresa ( FIEM ) through its ICO Fund, Société Générale ( with support from Cesce, the Spanish export credit agency ), Attijariwafa Bank, Banque Centrale Populaire, Bank of Africa, Caixa, and Cofides.

Spain’s financial support includes a €250 million loan from FIEM, partial financing of Acciona’s stake in the project company, as well as the Cesce cover.

The desalination plant will be supplied by renewable wind energy through a power purchase agreement ( PPA ) with a Moroccan renewable energy producer. Clifford Chance also acted as legal adviser to the lenders.

The first phase of the project will supply 559,000 cubic metres per day, and an additional 279,500 cubic metres per day in the second phase.

Located in Sidi Rahal, in the Greater Casablanca area, the project will contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal ( SDG ) 6: Clean Water and Sanitation. Utimately, the plant will have an annual production capacity of 300 million cubic metres and benefit 7.5 million inhabitants.