Project record

Casablanca-Settat desalination marine works and common systems

ACCIONA project rendering of the Casablanca-Settat reverse-osmosis desalination plant at Sidi Rahal

ACCIONA

The Casablanca-Settat PPP is building 300 million m3/year of seawater reverse-osmosis capacity at Sidi Rahal in two phases. ONEE's owner-issued prequalification basis requires the first phase to deliver marine intake and discharge works sized for the final 822,000 m3/day plant, alongside the common tunnelling and electrical systems.

Project signal

Construction in Morocco

Current status Construction active; common marine, tunnelling, and electrical systems remain on the path to the February 2027 first-phase target Source confidence Confirmed

Location

Morocco / Africa

Segment

Marine utilities

Status

Construction active; common marine, tunnelling, and electrical systems remain on the path to the February 2027 first-phase target / Confirmed

Last checked

10 August 2026

Coverage

Related sectors

Marine utilities is the primary work classification. Related sectors connect this record to adjacent marine delivery and market coverage.

Subject index

Related subjects

These subject pages bring together related projects, technical articles, reports, and evidence methods.

Project anatomy

Contract scope and delivery roles

Client / authority
Office National de l'Electricite et de l'Eau Potable (ONEE)
Delivery parties
Al Baidaa Desalination Company, ACCIONA, Green of Africa, AfriquiaGaz
Contract route
Public-private partnership with Al Baidaa Desalination Company; ACCIONA holds 50%, Green of Africa 45%, and AfriquiaGaz 5%, with ACCIONA responsible for construction and 27 years of operations and maintenance
Execution window
Construction started in June 2024. Current ACCIONA project-team reporting targets first-phase completion in February 2027 and second-phase completion in August 2028, after which commissioning and operating acceptance remain separate gates.
Works package
A two-phase 300 million m3/year seawater reverse-osmosis PPP. ONEE's procurement basis requires first-phase delivery of marine works sized for the final 822,000 m3/day plant: raw-water intake towers and emissaries, an intake and pumping basin, screening and desanding equipment, a discharge charging basin and emissaries with dilution, hydromechanical and electrical equipment, remote control, tunnelling, treatment, pumping, storage, transfer, renewable power and long-term operations and maintenance.
Marine interfaces
The first stage must deliver final-capacity marine and civil systems for both phases, while some process and intake-pumping equipment is phased. Intake towers, emissaries, the raw-water basin, screening and desanding, the discharge charging basin, dilution, shaft and tunnel interfaces, coastal geology and groundwater, seawater quality, waves and currents, electrical availability and integrated commissioning therefore sit on one acceptance path.
Commercial evidence boundary
The prime PPP, financing and main construction role are committed. Specialist demand remains in tunnelling and marine works, survey and geotechnical control, dewatering and temporary works, intake-outfall mechanical integration, environmental monitoring, testing, commissioning, integrity management, spares and long-term O&M support. No new project-level EPC award is evidenced.

Project timeline

Material developments

Dated events that changed scope, counterparties, delivery, commissioning or operating status.

Open this project in the Change Log

Q1 construction activity identified Casablanca as a Water delivery driver

ACCIONA's Q1 statement says Water revenue growth and backlog execution were driven in part by construction at Casablanca. It confirms active contractor delivery through 31 March 2026 but does not identify completed marine structures, tunnel advance, wet testing, or owner acceptance.

Source

Annual reporting kept Casablanca among ACCIONA's faster-delivering water projects

ACCIONA's 2025 integrated report attributes part of Water's improved performance to faster-than-expected delivery of key projects including Casablanca. This is a current execution signal, not a measured marine-progress percentage, tunnel breakthrough, common-system acceptance, first water, or operating release.

Source

ONEE's year-end profile kept the 300 million m3/year plant under construction

The owner describes Casablanca as in progress at the end of 2025 and retains the 300 million m3/year, clean-energy programme frame. This confirms owner-side construction status but provides no marine-package quantity, completion measure, acceptance certificate, or first-water evidence.

Source

The Al Baidaa consortium signed project financing

ACCIONA identified the 50/45/5 consortium split, 80/20 debt-equity structure, MAD 6.5 billion investment, renewable-power supply and 27-year construction and O&M role. Financing removes a commercial gate; it does not prove marine mobilisation, physical progress or accepted output.

Source

ONEE launched physical implementation at Sidi Rahal

The owner marked the start of project realization and set the two-phase capacity and programme. Construction launch moves the project into execution while marine method, tunnel progress, permanent intake and discharge installation, integrated testing and operation still require dated confirmation.

Source

ONEE concluded the long-term public-private partnership

ONEE records the PPP conclusion in November 2023 for design, finance, construction and more than 27 years of operation. The agreement establishes responsibility and delivery structure, not notice to proceed, construction start or marine-system definition and acceptance.

Source

ONEE fixed the first-phase marine works at final-capacity design basis

Dossier 01DAM/EE/2022 requires the first phase to deliver intake and discharge works sized for 822,000 m3/day, including intake towers, emissaries, basin civil works, screening and desanding, discharge dilution and controls; it is an owner procurement basis, not evidence of final geometry, completion or acceptance.

Source

Evidence gap

What remains unverified

Outstanding evidence

  • Completion and acceptance of the shared marine intake and discharge works
  • Tunnel, shaft, coastal-groundwater, and mechanical-interface progress
  • First-phase electrical energisation and integrated commissioning
  • Owner confirmation of first water and 200 million m3/year operating acceptance
  • Expansion readiness for the additional 100 million m3/year stage

Related records 2

Reporting status

Construction, confirmed confidence

Last checked 10 August 2026 across 10 cited sources. The dated timeline above carries the project events.

Last checked 10 August 2026 Cited sources 10

Sources and related records

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Source collections

Project sources 10