Morocco and the United Arab Emirates are accelerating a landmark energy and water partnership, with two of the region’s most powerful utility companies — Taqa Morocco and Nareva Holding — announcing a series of major joint ventures that could reshape the Kingdom’s infrastructure landscape.
The collaboration, which also involves the ONEE national utility and the Mohammed VI Investment Fund, targets investment of nearly 130 billion dirhams by 2030. The initiative encompasses clean power generation, large-scale seawater desalination, water transport infrastructure, and a new high-voltage direct current transmission line connecting Morocco’s south to its center.
At the heart of the deal is the joint acquisition by Taqa Morocco and Nareva Holding of at least 85% of Energie Electrique de Tahaddart, a Tanger-based combined-cycle gas plant currently operating at 400 MW. The two partners will hold equal shares of 42.5% each. A new joint venture, Tahaddart 2 & 3, will oversee the development of an adjacent combined-cycle facility with a total installed capacity of between 1,000 and 1,400 MW, running on natural gas to deliver flexible, low-carbon electricity.
Beyond power generation, the partners plan to establish dedicated renewable energy and desalination joint ventures covering regions including Oriental, Souss-Massa, Tanger, Tan-Tan, and Guelmim. These desalination plants — targeting 900 million cubic meters of output — will be powered exclusively by green energy developed within the same partnership framework.
A separate joint venture will manage the construction of a 3,000 MW HVDC electricity transmission corridor, while water transfer infrastructure will link key reservoirs including Garde Sebou, Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah, and Al Massira — addressing Morocco’s mounting water stress challenges.
Morocco’s Competition Council has received formal notification of the various concentration operations, signaling that regulatory review is now underway for what amounts to one of the country’s most consequential infrastructure deals in decades.
