Announcement of Projects to Rehabilitate Morocco's Water Supply and Improve Casablanca's Sewerage System on June 4, 1987

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washingto~, D.C. 20433, U.S.A. BANK NEWS RELEASE NO. 87/77 --- Contact: Fawzi Rihane (202) 477-5325 PROJECTS TO REHABILITATE MOROCCO'S WATER SUPPLY, IMPROVE CASABLANCA'S SEWERAGE SYSTEM WASHINGTON, June 4 -- Morocco will introduce policy reforms and measures designed to alleviate constraints facing the water supply sector and will support a major overhaul and improvement of Casablanca's sewerage system~ The World Bank is assisting these efforts with two project loans for $60 million each -- one to aid national water supply rehabilitation, and the other to support the Casablanca sewerage effort. Water is scarce is Morocco, and existing groundwater sources are becoming exhausted or are deteriorating in quality as a result of overexploitation. Treated surface water is therefore brought from greater distances to supply the large cities. At the same time, sewerage services also need remedial attention; they are unable to cope with the rapid growth of• population and industries. The national water supply rehabilitation project, to be completed in eight years, aims at improving the water supply by restructuring the Office National de l'Eau Potable (ONEP), the 16 water supply Regies (water supply companies), the Hydraulic Administration of the Ministry of Equipment, and the Regies' Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior. The project includes technical, institutional, financial and administrative restructuring. The Casablanca project, to be completed in nine years, involves the provision of management and technical assistance, including training, to the Regie of Casablanca (RAD), as well as new construction, replacement, or , rehabilitation of sewers and pumping stations, as well as provision of operation and maintenance equipment, training equipment and vehicles for RAD's sewerage department. Sewerage feasibility studies to assess alternatives for the treatment and disposal of sewage in the Greater Casablanca area will also be done, and various studies will be prepared for eight other Moroccan cities -- Agadir, Fes, Marrakesh, Meknes, Nador, Rabat, Settat and Tangiers. Both World Bank loans are for 20 years, including five years of grace for the national water supply rehabilitation project and six years of grace for the Casablanca project, with a variable interest rate currently 7.92 percent, linked to the cost of the Bank's borrowings. They also carry an annual commitment charge of 0.75 percent on the undisbursed balances. Note: Money figures are in U.S. dollar equivalents.