Acciona formalizes financing for desalination plant in Casablanca

Cuatrecasas has advised Acciona, a member of the Al Baidaa Desalination Company consortium along with Green of Africa and AfriquiaGaz, on the formalization of project contracts for the construction of a desalination plant in Casablanca (Morocco)—the largest in the world powered entirely by renewable energy.

Located in Sidi Rahal, in the Greater Casablanca area, the desalination plant represents a total investment of 6.5 billion Moroccan dirhams (613 million euros), which will be implemented through a public-private partnership agreement with the National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water of Morocco. The project’s financial structure is 80% debt and 20% equity. Partner financial institutions include Spain’s Corporate Internationalization Fund (FIEM) through its Official Credit Institute (ICO), Société Générale, Attijariwafa Bank, Banque Centrale Populaire, Bank of Africa, CaixaBank, and COFIDES.

Sectoral expansion

The project, which responds to the growing demand for drinking water in the country's economic metropolis, will be the largest desalination plant in Africa. With a capacity of 300 million m³ per year, suitable for consumption by 7.5 million people and potential agricultural use, it will supply the residents of Casablanca, Settat, Berrechid, Bir Jdid, and the neighboring areas.

The plant will use reverse osmosis technology powered by renewable energy from the 360 MW Bir Anzarane wind farm, which will allocate 47% of its production to the new facility. Acciona will be responsible for the construction, operation, and maintenance of the desalination plant for 27 years.

Construction of the plant is planned for the third quarter of 2028. Acciona has also built the Fouka desalination plant in Algeria, northern Africa. In addition, it has implemented several projects in Egypt: the Gabal El Asfar wastewater treatment plant, hydraulic infrastructure in New Cairo, the construction of five drinking water treatment plants, and the commissioning of the Al Baqr wastewater treatment plant. The region is one of the world’s greatest growth opportunities in the field of water desalination, given its widespread scarcity.

The Cuatrecasas team handling the advisory services was made up of Carlos Lasarte, David Vidal, Irene Sanz, and Alejandra Azinovic, from Finance. Speaking about the transaction, Carlos Lasarte said, "It has been a pleasure to be able to support Acciona on a project of this nature, which is particularly interesting and challenging due to its strategic interest and the mixed nature of the project: concessionary for the desalination plant and private for the supply of renewable energy.”