Morocco - National Water Supply Rehabilitation Project

 National water supply rehabilitation project Report No: ; Type: Report/Evaluation Memorandum ; Country: Morocco; Region: Middle East And North Africa; Sector: Water Supply & Sanitation Adjustment; Major Sector: Water Supply & Sanitation; ProjectID: P005423 The Morocco National Water Supply Rehabilitation project, supported by Loan 2825-MOR for US$60 million equivalent, was approved in FY87. The Loan was closed on June 30, 1996, one year late, and US$2.3 million was canceled. The Implementation Completion Report (ICR) was prepared by the Middle East and North Africa Regional Office. The borrower prepared its own completion report, a summary of which is included as an appendix. The project was the fourth in the sector in Morocco. Its key objectives were to increase the productivity and coordination of public investments in the water supply. These objectives were to be achieved through: (i) developing the capabilities of the national and regional water supply companies to identify, prepare, appraise, and monitor projects meeting clearly defined economic and financial criteria; (ii) improving the performance of the regional companies through organizational, financial, and management reforms; (iii) reducing the sector’s dependence on budgetary transfers; (iv) rehabilitating existing water supply facilities to increase the quantity of water available and to reduce operating costs; and (v) improving sector management by creating a National Water Council and a Sector Investment Coordination Committee, and the enforcement of a Water Code. Most of the physical components were completed. Many of them went through design and scope changes, primarily because the project appraisal was based on preliminary designs only. This caused some delay in project implementation, but costs were about 25 percent lower than estimated at appraisal. Most water production components were increased in size, and one new component—water production for the city of Ben Slimane—was added. The rehabilitation of water distribution networks and storage reservoirs, including the construction of new reservoirs, was completed satisfactorily. Although the number of water mains replaced was much lower than anticipated (some 30 percent of the appraisal estimate), the inspection program and resulting repair of leaks exceeded the appraisal targets: water losses were cut to about 20 to 30 percent (from 21 to 41 percent, about a six percent reduction on average). Tariff increases helped reduce water use by large consumers. The project helped to supply the water needs of an additional 2.3 million people and the number of service connections increased by about 63 percent. The very ambitious institutional objectives were mostly met. At the national level, most of the institutional strengthening activities were completed satisfactorily, but many delays were experienced in the regional “Régies