Morocco’s Guelmim-Oued Noun region, part of EBRD’s Green Cities Program
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has included Guelmim-Oued Noun region into its Green Cities Program and will thus contribute with a €12 million loan to improve drinking water supply in rural areas and upgrade four existing wastewater treatment plants.
“This is a trigger investment that will initiate the region’s participation in the EBRD Green Cities program and accelerate Morocco’s environmental agenda by helping transform one of its key regions,” said the London-based institution in a recently-issued statement.
“I am truly delighted to welcome Guelmim-Oued Noun to the EBRD’s Green Cities programme,” Nandita Parshad, EBRD Managing Director for Sustainable Infrastructure, was quoted in the statement as saying.
Mathieu Bousquet, Acting Director for Thematic Support, Policy Coordination and Financial Instruments at the European Commission stated that this project is another example of the successful cooperation with EBRD and the Global Environment Facility in accelerating the transition to green, low-carbon economies in countries in the EU’s neighborhood.
A Green City Action Plan (GCAP) will also be developed with the support of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to help the city identify and prioritize its most pressing environmental challenges, and support the development and implementation of a plan outlining investments and policy actions.
The EBRD will co-finance investments aimed at increasing access to drinking water for households in rural areas in the province of Guelmim by rehabilitating and extending drinking water systems, thereby reducing water losses in the supply network. This investment will address regional disparities and promote a more efficient use of water, the statement said.
The Bank’s funds are supplemented by a $1 million (€0.9 million) investment grant from the Global Environment Facility under the Environmental Technology Transfer (ENVITECC) program.
The GEF’s grant, together with the EBRD funds, will co-finance the upgrading of four wastewater treatment plants and recycling systems in the cities of Guelmim, Lakhssas, Tan Tan and Mirleft, according to the Bank.
These upgrades will enable to save significant quantities of water, as approximately 10 million m3 of treated wastewater will be reused each year for watering green spaces and green belts in the region. The investment will therefore promote the circular economy as an effective framework for sustainable water management, EBRD explained.
The EBRD’s loan will be supported by a guarantee from the European Union (EU) through its European Fund for Sustainable Development (EFSD) guarantee program.
A technical assistance component, funded by the EU, will help the region to identify appropriate operational and maintenance solutions for rural water supply services, as well as an adequate management model for using recycled water to ensure the investments are sustainable, the bank added.
President of the Guelmim-Oued Noun region, Mbarka Bouaida, expressed her “extreme” satisfaction with the partnership and said, according to the EBRD statement, that Guelmim Oued Noun will be the first region in Morocco to benefit from a local currency loan from an international financial institution. She noted that joining the EBRD’s Green Cities program is also a “crucial step in advancing the region’s commitment to a sustainable and climate-resilient future, in accordance with the aspirations of our regional development plan and steering us towards achieving carbon neutrality by 2035.”
Morocco is a founding member of the EBRD and became a beneficiary of Bank resources in 2012. To date, the EBRD has invested €4.3 billion in the country through 96 projects.
