By Abdullahi Lukman
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has signed a €150 million sovereign loan with Morocco to finance the final phase of the Saiss Water Conservation Program, a flagship initiative aimed at strengthening water security and agricultural resilience.
The agreement was concluded during a two-day visit to Morocco on December 11–12 by an EBRD delegation led by First Vice President Greg Guyett, alongside Vice President for Banking Matteo Patrone.
The loan was signed with Minister Delegate for the Budget Fouzi Lekjaa, in the presence of Minister of Agriculture Ahmed El Bouari.
The financing will support construction of a large-scale water distribution network to irrigate around 20,000 hectares in the water-stressed Saiss plain in the Fez-Meknes region.
This marks the third and final phase of the program, bringing total investment to €252 million following earlier funding rounds in 2017 and 2020.
The Saiss program aims to replace unsustainable groundwater extraction with surface water supplied from the M’Dez dam, transferring up to 120 million cubic meters annually.
Once completed, the project is expected to benefit about 5,000 farms and 1.8 million people, while easing pressure on the overexploited Saiss aquifer.
Previous phases of the project received support from the European Union and the Green Climate Fund.
Additional contributions include a US$7.5 million grant from the United Kingdom through EBRD’s HIPCA fund, a €5 million EBRD investment grant, and €500,000 in technical assistance.
The project also incorporates climate-resilient irrigation systems, SCADA-based remote network management, and technical cooperation programs focused on sustainable water management, with particular attention to youth, women, and economic inclusion.
During the visit, EBRD also announced a separate €50 million green financing package with Crédit du Maroc, backed by international partners, to support green economy investments.
EBRD officials reaffirmed their long-term commitment to Morocco, where the Bank has invested nearly €5.9 billion across 125 projects since 2012, supporting infrastructure modernization, climate resilience, and rural development.