His Majesty King Mohammed VI, Supreme Commander and Chief of General Staff of the Royal Armed Forces (FAR), proceeded, on Monday at the port of Dakhla, to the inauguration of the "Oued Massa" seawater desalination barge. Newly acquired by the Royal Navy from the Dutch shipyards "Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding", this barge will allow for the production of drinking water for areas facing water shortages and lacking port infrastructure, an important initiative within the framework of relief and assistance missions for disaster-stricken populations. The acquisition of this barge was decided by H.M. the King, Supreme Commander and Chief of General Staff of the FAR, following the floods that affected the southern provinces of the Kingdom in 2014.
With a production capacity of 1,500 m3 per day, the new barge will allow for the supply of drinking water to 75,000 people, at a rate of 20 litres per day per person. Seawater desalination is carried out in several stages. Thus, after pumping and storing the seawater, it is pre-filtered before being routed to sand and cartridge filters, then to a reverse osmosis module. After a treatment and analysis stage, the water, having become potable, is stored on board the barge in dedicated tanks.
"Oued Massa" is a heavy, non-propelled transport barge of modern and standardised design. Its movement is ensured by the tugboat "Al Mounkid" and the transhipment of the produced drinking water to the nearest distribution network is ensured by the transport barge "Sidi Ifni". It is equipped with new-generation equipment, including two reverse osmosis units, two generator sets, and towing and mooring facilities.
Upon his arrival at the site, H.M. the King, Supreme Commander and Chief of General Staff of the FAR, was welcomed by General of the Army Corps Bouchaïb Arroub, Inspector General of the FAR, Commander of the Southern Zone, as well as by the delegated Commander of the Dakhla garrison.
The Sovereign then reviewed a detachment of the Royal Navy that paid honours, before being greeted by Vice-Admiral Mohamed Laghmari, Inspector of the Royal Navy, the Rear-Admiral, Commander of the Dakhla maritime sector, the Wali of the Dakhla-Oued Eddahab region, Governor of the Oued Eddahab province, the Director of the port of Dakhla, the Operations Director of "Marsa Maroc" Dakhla, and the Commander of the port of Dakhla.
