Sanitation Project of the Moroccan Drinking Water Authorities together with Lahmeyer GKW Consult

Sanitary conditions will improve considerably for the inhabitants of 24 towns in Morocco during the coming five years. The environment will also benefit from the plans of the National Drinking Water Authority (ONEP). As part of its National Sanitation Programme, ONEP intends to award contracts for the collection, transfer and treatment of municipal wastewater before it is discharged into the outfall drainage system. Lahmeyer GKW Consult is providing technical assistance to the client for the site supervision component of the project. The Moroccan company Nord Dirassat is also part of the consortium as Lahmeyer GKW’s local partner. This forward-looking undertaking is financed by the Agence Française de Développement, the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau, the European Investment Bank and the European Union.

The inhabitants of small and medium-sized towns in the regions of Agadir, Kénitra, Rabat and Marrakesh, lying in the range 10,000 to 60,000, have been looking forward to more modern times since the beginning of the project. Their sewerage networks are being expanded and rehabilitated, and new wastewater treatment plants are being constructed. Together with their partners, Lahmeyer GKW Consult specialists are monitoring the works on-site, covering time schedules, costs, and construction quality. One of the challenges specific to this project is the large number of construction activities taking place simultaneously at widely dispersed locations. In addition to the technical issues, major logistical and organizational hurdles must be overcome in order to achieve the ambitious targets: to increase the number of household connections to the sewerage system, to protect the water resources and to improve the quality of life for the inhabitants.