(MENAFN- Morocco World News) The African Development Bank (AfDB) approved Wednesday in Abidjan a loan of 88.85 million to fund a project in Morocco aiming at improving the quality of drinking water service.

The project is meant to strengthen and secure the drinking water supply in several cities and to improve water quality at the Bouregreg system (artificial aeration at the Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah dam and ozonation at the existing treatment plant), said a statement from the AfDB.

According to the AfDB, the effective implementation of this project will meet the needs of drinking water and industrial water until 2030 in the most populated and urbanized area in Morocco (more than 5 million people).

“The project will contribute to enriching the experience of the National Office of Electricity and Water Supply to achieve and develop drinking water projects in rural and urban areas,” the statement said.

It added that the loan brings to 12 billion dirhams (nearly 1.1 billion euros) the total lent by the AfDB to Morocco to finance drinking water projects, which places the Bank as the first partner of the Kingdom in the water sector.

With MAP