A UAE-Moroccan private venture is planning to pump nearly $25 billion into a green hydrogen and ammonia project in the North African Arab country.

Dahamco has already obtained approval from the Moroccan government to set up the project in the Atlantic port of Dakhla in the disputed Western Sahara.

In comments published last week, Dahamco President Tom Hanson said phase 1 of the project would produce nearly one million tonnes per year and that it would cost around 40 billion Moroccan dirhams ($4.04 billion).

He told France’s Le Matin newspaper: "Dahamco has obtained land rights and the necessary local authorisations for its project well before the implementation of Morocco’s Offer for the development of green hydrogen in November 2022.”

He said project approvals from the Regional Investment Centre (CRI) were issued in July 2022, adding that the majority of the land to house the project was registered.

“Today, its design is fully finalised, its co-investors mobilised and its outlets have been clearly defined. We have therefore been ready to move forward for quite some time.”

The Dahamco project will be developed in several phases, according to Hanson who said the sizing of the project in phases will guarantee the company a competitive average cost and will avoid the risks linked to a "too early" adoption.

“If everything goes as the company's top management wishes, the first phase of the project will be operational in 2031 and will have a production capacity of around 1 million tonnes per year,” Hanson said.

“The following phases of the project should come into service at intervals of 4 to 5 years from the operation of the first.”

Morocco’s Sabah Akadir newspaper said on Saturday that the project would be launched soon but it gave no specific dates.

In a report in late 2023, the Moroccan Economy and Finance Minister said there are plans to set up energy projects worth nearly $60 billion and that more than 90 percent of them will cover green hydrogen and ammonia.

It said key investors in such projects include Taqa Morocco, AP Moller Capital of Denmark, Dahamco and Ornx Boujdour of Morocco, and OCP Group, a key Moroccan producer of phosphates.

(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon) 

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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