International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has granted €100 million ($108 million) funding to Morocco's OCP Group, a plant nutrition solutions and phosphate-based fertiliser producer, to build a cross-country water pipeline.

The loan will support the construction of a 219-kilometre water pipeline and pumping station to transport desalinated water from OCP Group existing and planned desalination plants in Jorf Lasfar on the Atlantic Ocean to the company’s production operations in Khouribga in central Morocco, according to IFC's press statement.

Construction is already well-advanced, with the pipeline’s total capacity at 80 million cubic metres per year (m3/year) on completion. 

This project will provide OCP with a sustainable and reliable water source, freeing up water for use by farmers, businesses, and consumers in and around Khouribga.

The pipeline is part of OCP Group’s water programme, delivered by its specialised subsidiary, OCP Green Water, which will supply 100 percent non-conventional water to the group by the end of 2024. 

OCP aims to produce 560 million m3/year of desalinated water and 60 million m3/year of treated wastewater by 2027 through investments of $611 million.  

The pipeline is expected to be powered by renewable sources, improving access to sustainable water resources and increasing resilience to climate shocks by 2030. 

Since 2021, IFC and OCP Group have partnered to develop sustainable food systems in Africa, build solar plants and green fertiliser production.

In the past three fiscal years, IFC invested and mobilised more than $1 billion to support sustainable economic development.

(Editing by Anoop Menon) (anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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