Smart Water Magazine
Connecting Waterpeople

CaixaBank and COFIDES finance ACCIONA in the construction of a desalination plant in Morocco

  • CaixaBank and COFIDES finance ACCIONA in the construction of desalination plant in Morocco
    Representatives of CaixaBank, Cofides, Green of Africa and Acciona during the signing of the agreementRepresentatives of CaixaBank, Cofides, Green of Africa and Acciona during the signing of the agreement
  • CaixaBank and COFIDES grant loans of €31M each for the start-up of a plant that will serve five cities.

About the entity

COFIDES
The Compañía Española de Financiación del Desarrollo, COFIDES, S.A., S.M.E. (Spanish Development Finance Institution) is a state-owned trading company founded in 1988. It provides medium and long-term financing for viable private investment projects.

CaixaBank and COFIDES will back the Spanish multinational ACCIONA in the construction of a desalination plant in Casablanca, Morocco. Each entity has granted a 31 million euros. The project involves a total investment of more than €650M.

Acciona is part of an international consortium that has been selected for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of a desalination plant under a public-private partnership (PPP). This is a project to be developed with the Moroccan National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water under a 30-year concession. The plant will be built in the southwest of Casablanca and will serve five cities, with an installed capacity of 300 million cubic metres per year mainly for human consumption.

Morocco has experienced a significant increase in water demand in recent years for activities such as tourism, industry, commerce and domestic consumption. At the same time, the country is experiencing a prolonged drought.

This project has an impact on the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 6, Water and Sanitation, by providing safe drinking water to the population of several urban centres.

Morocco has experienced a significant increase in water demand in recent years for activities such as tourism, industry, commerce and domestic consumption

Cristina García, Director of Project Finance for Infrastructure at CaixaBank's Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB), highlighted the crucial role played by the bank's branch in Morocco in this operation: “CaixaBank has had a banking license in Morocco since 2009, where it has three offices - in Casablanca, Tangier, and Agadir. From there, it offers foreign trade services, business banking, and corporate banking both to Spanish companies already established in the country or with plans to enter the Moroccan market, as well as to large Moroccan and multinational companies. CaixaBank has become the reference bank for Spanish companies with a presence in Morocco. Around 60% of the 800 Spanish companies operating in the country (according to ICEX data) are clients of this branch in Morocco”.

The Chief Investment Officer of COFIDES, Miguel Ángel Ladero, stressed that "this is an emblematic project for the sector and will be the largest desalination plant in Africa.” Moreover, "access to water is vital not only for health and food security, but also for ensuring development and economic growth. With this project, Acciona is contributing to tackling water scarcity and the effects of climate change, so it is very gratifying to accompany the company in this operation." Finally, he recalled that "for COFIDES, Morocco is a country of great strategic importance that offers multiple opportunities for investment”.

Subscribe to our newsletter

The data provided will be treated by iAgua Conocimiento, SL for the purpose of sending emails with updated information and occasionally on products and / or services of interest. For this we need you to check the following box to grant your consent. Remember that at any time you can exercise your rights of access, rectification and elimination of this data. You can consult all the additional and detailed information about Data Protection.