The question of water management is of paramount importance in debates on Africa’s development. It will be central to the upcoming Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank, to be held in Abidjan from 26 to 30 May 2025 under the banner, “Making Africa’s Capital Work better for Africa’s Development.”
On a continent where water stress presents an increasing challenge, Morocco has experimented with an innovative solution: creating a new water intake from the Al Massira dam to supply the two million inhabitants of the city of Marrakech with drinking water, the AfDB said in a press release.
An unprecedented project to tackle water stress
The key part of this project is being carried out 120 kilometes from Marrakech, where engineers have drilled a hole in Al Massira dam – Morocco’s second largest water reservoir, with a capacity of approximately 2.6 billion cubic meters of water. Water released through the perforation will be carried by pipeline to Marrakech, with a flow rate of seven cubic meters of water per second.
Engineers found perforation to be the best solution for a water intake from the reservoir. However, drilling a hole and installing the water intake was a hugely challenging operation and the first of its kind to be carried out in Africa.
The project is part of a €150 million program, funded by the African Development Bank, to improve access to drinking water for the two million inhabitants of the city of Marrakech. Rapid urban and tourist development in Marrakech has generated an ever-increasing demand for water in recent decades. The stakes in the project are high: to secure access to water in a region where this vital strategic resource will become increasingly scarce due to climate change.
Installing a waterproof structure as tall as a building
A major waterproofing structure – a 40-metre-high cofferdam weighing over 250 tons – had to be installed underwater on the dam wall to clear a large watertight volume, so that drilling work could proceed in safety.
The other major challenge was to create a conduit, 2.5 meters in diameter and 10 meters deep, through the reinforced concrete wall of the dam. Highly complex studies were required to ensure that the drilling work to create the conduit would not harm the structural integrity of the dam.
Drilling and extracting a 100-ton block of reinforced concrete
The operation required the extraction of a concrete core with weight of 100 tons from the dam. Moroccan and international experts together with dozens of engineers, divers and technicians worked in shifts for several months to meet this colossal challenge.
Replicating the experience in Africa
The technical solution carried out at Al Massira dam has proven its worth and can be replicated where necessary in Morocco and other African countries.
Morocco and the African Development Bank have developed a strategic partnership in the water sector since the 1970s, during which the Bank has financed multiple operations with a total value in excess of $1.5 billion.
By helping to improve the quality of life of the people in Morocco through the provision of drinking water, the African Development Bank is laying the foundations for sustainable and inclusive development in Morocco and elsewhere in Africa.