SRM Casablanca-Settat's Partnership for Enhanced Water Accessibility
The Regional Multi-Service Company (SRM) of Casablanca-Settat has teamed up with the Casablanca-Settat Region to implement a significant program aimed at improving and generalizing access to drinking water across various centers and douars in the region, with a particular focus on rural areas. This initiative is part of the National Drinking Water Supply and Irrigation Program for 2020-2027 (PNAEPI) and involves a total estimated budget of 350.8 million Moroccan Dirhams (MDH), which encompasses studies, technical assistance, and land acquisition. The funding for this ambitious program is primarily sourced from the Ministry of the Interior, contributing 245.6 MDH, while the General Directorate of Local Authorities adds another 105.2 MDH.
The operations cover several provinces within the region, including Settat, Berrechid, Benslimane, El Jadida, and Sidi Bennour, and focus on several key objectives: the provision of drinking water to 25 centers at a cost of 150 MDH; enhancing access for rural populations through interventions in 341 douars, with an investment of 150.8 MDH; and developing water points in 80 douars, allocated a budget of 50 million DH. This program addresses a crucial need: to mitigate territorial disparities concerning access to drinking water and bring this essential service closer to rural populations. Depending on the project specifics, the interventions include the construction and reinforcement of necessary infrastructures to ensure drinking water supply to the identified centers and douars.
Project Management and Progress Updates
Within this framework, SRM Casablanca-Settat is directly responsible for managing projects worth nearly 44 million DH including taxes, specifically in the provinces of Sidi Bennour and El Jadida. This responsibility encompasses everything from project preparation and contract signing to ongoing monitoring, quality control, and the final acceptance of completed works. In Sidi Bennour, the projects target six centers—Sebt Lamaarif, Ouled Amrane, M’Tal, Metrane, Ouled Si Bouhya, and Bni Hilal—totaling 35 MDH including taxes. These initiatives include the construction and enhancement of drinking water networks, the installation of elevated reservoirs and associated equipment, the establishment of booster stations, and the creation of individual connections. Remarkably, the construction works have achieved an overall progress rate of about 90%.
In El Jadida, a project valued at approximately 8.6 MDH including taxes focuses on equipping the center of Sidi Hssein Ben Abderrahmane and six douars within the Ouled Hcine municipality with drinking water. This venture includes the installation of 19 kilometers of pipelines, nine water fountains, a 150 cubic meter elevated reservoir, and the reinforcement of the pumping station, benefiting approximately 1,200 households or nearly 6,000 residents. The construction works in this area have been completed successfully. Through these operations, SRM Casablanca-Settat plays a comprehensive operational role in the assigned projects, overseeing technical studies, preparing and launching tenders, contract signing, monitoring and controlling the works, accepting the completed structures, as well as administrative and financial follow-up.
As reported by ecoactu.ma.
