EIB Lends Morocco 75 Mln Euro for Water & Sanitation Projects
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has granted Morocco this week a 75 million loan destined to help the North African country carry out projects aimed at increasing the capacity of the water production & distribution and improving sanitation networks.
This financing operation backs Morocco’s 2012-2016 national strategy to provide the population with fair access to basic services and modernize priority infrastructure.
“This is a key financing operation for Morocco”, said the EIB vice-president Román Escolano. “Access to good quality water is essential to the economic and social life of a country. It is a source of life and an asset that must be preserved at all costs. That is why it is essential to provide every municipality with modern, efficient, environmentally friendly infrastructure that can support economic activity while improving people’s quality of life”, stressed the European bank official.
According to some experts, Morocco’s rapidly growing population and burgeoning economic activity have increased demand for water throughout the country.
Focused on enhancing the performance and reliability of the water network, this loan will support a number of small-scale projects seeking to renovate and optimize water production and distribution and upgrade sanitation infrastructure throughout Morocco in a bid to reduce water losses.
The financing operation will also have a positive social and environmental impact on local communities, particularly in terms of public health: the quality of the drinking water supply and sanitation services, the reduction in wastewater, the increased resistance of the infrastructure to climate change and the optimization of water resources that will improve the citizen’s quality of life.
The EIB, the main provider of funds to Morocco, has invested nearly 6.7 billion Euros in supporting projects in the Moroccan economy’s key sectors, such as energy, transport, water and sanitation, health and education, social housing, industry, Small and Medium Businesses (SME) and innovation.
As the largest multilateral lender, the EIB provides finance and expertise for sound and sustainable investment projects which contribute to furthering EU policy objectives. More than 90 pc of its activity is focused on Europe but it also supports the EU’s external and development policies.
