Namibia and Morocco’s big investments in securing water access
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Namibia and Morocco’s big investments in securing water access
Water management is critical in African countries.
Africa hosts three of the world’s largest rivers (the Nile, Congo and Niger) and although it has abundant freshwater resources in some regions, most African countries are arid or semi-arid where water is not readily available to the population.
Water management is thus extremely important especially in regions like Southern and East Africa that are prone to drought and erratic rainfall. In the horn of Africa and in countries like Sudan, Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia, water scarcity remains one of the most pressing challenges.
Many African countries have poor infrastructure in place, there is minimal investment in water management and a lack of access to proper sanitation exacerbates the challenges of ensuring consistent access to clean water for all citizens.
It is thus encouraging to see several African countries investing in water infrastructure.
Namibia strengthens infrastructure
Namibia, one of the countries with the highest rates of access to drinking water in Africa, is banking on strengthening its infrastructure to secure the supply of water to its people, as well as water for irrigation.
Between 2024 and 2025, the Namibian government will allocate a budget of one billion Namibian dollars (nearly USD52.5-million) to achieve this ambition. According to the Namibian authorities, by 2022, around 99% of Namibians will already have access to drinking water in urban areas and 87% in rural areas.
Morocco’s desalination plans
Morocco plans to build the world’s largest seawater desalination plant in its economic capital, Casablanca, with a budget estimated at USD1.05-billion. Planned to be operational by the end of 2027, the plant will produce around 300 million cubic meters of water yearly.
The flagship project is part of Morocco’s Water National Plan 2020-2050, seeking to address the challenge of water scarcity in Morocco. The North African country has a clear vision to overcome the precipitation shortage through the 2020-2027 National Drinking Water Supply and Irrigation Program.
King Mohamed VI launched the program in January 2020 with a whopping USD12.6 billion budget.
To read the article on the WhyAfrica website, click on the link below.
Image: The Orano desalination plant in Erongo, Namibia. The plant’s current capacity is 20 million cubic meters per year, with potential for expansion up to 45 million cubic meters annually, depending on demand. Image credit: Leon Louw for WhyAfrica.
To read more about water management and the natural resources of Africa, visit the WhyAfrica website, your one-stop-shop for on the ground information about Africa.
WhyAfrica specialises in the sustainable use and responsible extraction of Africa’s natural resources.
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