The World Bank's Board of Directors today approved the US$250 million Morocco Municipal Solid Waste Management Support Program to help strengthen the financial and environmental performance of Morocco's municipal solid waste system by supporting key priority reforms and investments.
Moroccan cities are home to more than 60 percent of the population and are key engines of growth for the country. The Kingdom's New Development Model puts a strong focus on enhancing the livability and attractiveness of urban areas. In this context, municipal solid waste management has been among the Government of Morocco's key priorities, with marked improvements over the past two decades. With support from the World Bank, the national municipal solid waste management program has resulted in a significant improvement in cities' cleanliness, with urban waste collection coverage increasing from 40 percent in 2008 to 96 percent in 2022. Despite progress, Morocco's municipal solid waste sector continue to face environmental and financial challenges.
Building on past lessons and to address these challenges, the Government of Morocco, in 2023, established the current national municipal waste management and valorization program, PNVDM (Programme National de Valorisation des Déchets Ménagers), which stresses environmentally sustainable practices, including reducing landfilling and improving waste recovery. The new World Bank-supported program will directly contribute to the PNVDM's objectives by helping to improve the sector's financial and environmental performance while strengthening governance, policies, and management. It will namely help upgrade the management of several controlled landfills and extend waste valorization efforts, using financially viable business models, close and rehabilitate a select number of abandoned uncontrolled landfills, identify additional revenue sources for the sector, and support in monitoring and reporting on the sector Greenhouse Gas emissions in alignment with the Paris Agreement.
"Helping to promote more livable and attractive cities is a priority for the World Bank in Morocco. Our current Country Partnership Framework emphasizes the need for improving key infrastructure delivery services in urban areas," said Moustapha Ndiaye, Country Director for the Maghreb and Malta at the World Bank. "This new operation leverages our long-standing work in the municipal solid waste management sector and complements the Government efforts to enhance local service delivery and improve citizens' quality of life while supporting Morocco's climate adaptation and mitigation efforts."
The new program is supported by technical assistance and funding from the Global Facility for Disaster Risk Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) and the Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF).
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The World Bank Group.
