Casablanca is gearing up for a new era in waste management. After months of procrastination, mainly over land ownership, the municipality of Casablanca is finally moving up a gear. Contacted by TelQuel, Moulay Ahmed Afilal, Vice-President in charge of cleanliness and water, confirms that construction work on the new waste recovery center will enter its concrete phase very shortly. The aim of this major project is to get the city out of the landfill loop, a source of environmental and health nuisance.
Land freed up, delivered
While the waste recycling center project initially suffered from delays linked to a change in the contract between the municipality and the contractor, it then had to contend with another major obstacle: land. This obstacle has now been overcome, explains Moulay Ahmed Afilal: « The start of work was delayed because of the land. But the commune has acquired the land. » Covering an area of 264 hectares, it is soulaliyate land, under the supervision of the Ministry of the Interior.
The municipality of Casablanca finally agreed to the payment conditions demanded by the seller: « The president (Nabila Rmili, editor’s note) signed the contract with the Direction Générale des Collectivités Territoriales (DGCT) before the notary. The contract calls for a payment of 528 million dirhams, to be paid in a single instalment. It should be noted that we had already made an advance payment of 128 million to the Direction des affaires rurales. »
The conclusion of the sale means that the second stage of the project can now begin: the actual start of construction. Moulay Ahmed Afilal is confident: « Work should start in the next few weeks, because we’ve delayed the schedule long enough
Stop burying the problem
« We think that the Casablanca waste recovery center project will be operational by the end of 2027 or early 2028 »
Casablanca has long suffered from a number of nuisances (toxic fumes, poisoning of the water table, foul odors, etc.) caused by landfilling waste, recalls the vice-president of the Casablanca municipality. He adds: « If we carry on like this, we’ll always have mountains of garbage, with the consequent leachate problem, and with the constraint of land scarcity. It’s time to move on.
However, while awaiting the construction and opening of the recycling center, the municipality has taken transitional measures: « We will continue to operate a new landfill created for this purpose. This landfill has the necessary space for two or two and a half years of landfilling, » says our source, who adds that the construction project will be carried out in stages. « The main thing is that we’re starting work. We expect the project to be operational by the end of 2027 or early 2028 », he hopes.
The volume of waste to be recovered is ambitious: 4,000 tonnes of waste will have to be processed daily during the launch phase. This volume is designed first and foremost to meet Casablanca’s own needs. However, neighboring municipalities such as Mohammedia and Berrechid will gradually be added once the plant has reached cruising speed.
A budget equal to the challenge
« If we save on investments today by burying waste, we’ll end up paying for it one day in public health costs »
The project has changed from a simple sorting center to a recovery center, which changes the situation and the cost. The initial budget of 1.5 billion dirhams has therefore risen to 13 billion, due to the new requirements of the specifications, emphasizes Moulay Ahmed Afilal. « You have to realize that incineration is very expensive, as are investments, but this expense is justified by the importance we attach to the health of the people of Casablanca. If we make savings in terms of investment today, we’ll end up paying for it one day in public health expenditure », says our source.
The main contractor will be a consortium made up of the Moroccan group Nareva, and Japan’s Hitachi and Yutofo. During the call for tenders, the commune had insisted that at least one Moroccan partner be included in the consortium. » Nareva will put its expertise in renewable energies at the service of the project, in conjunction with Hitachi, which has already set up a similar project in Dubai », the vice-president tells us.
The 264-hectare site will not be used exclusively for the center. Part of it is earmarked for a small industrial zone dedicated to the recycling of sorted materials, thus creating jobs in the area around the station.
On the social front, the project places particular emphasis on inclusion. The public authorities are currently conducting a census of ragpickers and sorters. » We will be encouraging them to organize themselves into cooperatives so that they can be integrated into the new recycling chain, and not remain on the sidelines, » emphasizes Moulay Ahmed Afilal.
In addition to creating jobs, the Casablanca waste-to-energy project will also generate substantial energy savings: Ahmed Afilal assures us that the center will generate electricity that will help reduce Casablanca’s street lighting energy bill by 25 to 30%.
Written in French by Amine Belghazi, Edited in English by AngloMedia Group.
