Morocco Builds 14 Dams Worth US$3 Billion

Morocco is building or raising 14 large dams at a total cost of more than MAD 29 billion (about US$2.97 billion), to add about 5 billion cubic metres of storage after years of drought. The figures come from a progress tally that Maadialna, the water news platform of the Ministry of Equipment and Water, published on Friday, 16 October 2026, repeating dam-by-dam figures the news site Le360 first reported on 19 September.

The program matters beyond Morocco because water shortages have cut its harvests and weighed on growth in recent years. For US readers, Morocco is a free trade partner of the United States and a buyer of American goods, so how well it stores water shapes the health of a market US exporters rely on.

Two dams are complete: Sidi Abbou in Taounate province, with 200 million cubic metres of storage, and Aït Ziat in Al Haouz province, with 185 million, which is due to enter service in 2027. Beni Azimane in Driouch province is 98% done and should be finished by the end of 2026.

Six more are between 77% and 90% complete, including Targa Ou Madi in the east at 90% and Oued Lakhdar in Azilal at 86%. The raising of the Mokhtar Soussi dam in Taroudant had passed 85% by 14 October, according to a separate ministry update, while Boulaouane in Chichaoua is at 81%, Kheng Grou in Figuig at 78% and the raising of the Mohammed V dam in Taourirt at 77%.

Kheng Grou is the largest of this group, with planned storage of 1.07 billion cubic metres, and the raised Mohammed V dam will hold 980 million. All of these are scheduled for completion in 2027, according to the ministry figures, which the Casablanca daily Le Matin also published on 16 October and the Arabic-language outlet Alyaoum24 carried on 18 October.

Five projects are further behind. Ratba in Taounate is 55% complete and due in 2030, Tamri near Agadir is at 39.5% and due in 2029, and Ribat El Kheir in Sefrou is at 26%.

The Bou Ahmed dam in Chefchaouen is only 1% complete and due in 2030. Work to raise the Imfout dam in Settat is just starting, with completion planned for 2031.

Ratba is the most expensive project at MAD 4.37 billion (about US$448 million), followed by Tamri at MAD 3.27 billion (about US$335 million) and Bou Ahmed at MAD 3 billion (about US$308 million), according to Le360. The ministry figures also show that building time at Tamri has been cut by 33 months from the original schedule.

Alongside the large dams, Morocco plans 155 small dams between 2022 and 2027 for MAD 6.2 billion (about US$636 million). Sixteen are finished, 15 are under construction and 30 more are to be put out to tender before the end of 2026.

Four medium-sized dams are also being built for about MAD 1.9 billion (about US$195 million), at Aïn Qassab in Benslimane, Tassa Ouirgane in Al Haouz, Msalit in Tata and Sidi Yaacoub in Tiznit. Nine large dams with about 2 billion cubic metres of storage have already been completed, among them Kaddoussa, Tiddas and Agdez, and the Sakia El Hamra dam has been rebuilt.

Morocco went through several years of severe drought before heavy rains returned. On 19 October 2026 its dams were 65.9% full with about 11.2 billion cubic metres of water, according to the ministry’s Maadialna platform.

A year earlier, on 12 October 2025, reservoirs were only 32.1% full with about 5.4 billion cubic metres, according to the same ministry data as reported by Le Matin. The new dams are meant to capture more of the water in wet years so that it lasts through dry ones, and they come on top of desalination plants and canals that move water between river basins.

Morocco has had a free trade agreement with the United States since 1 January 2006, after the two countries signed it in June 2004. US goods exports to Morocco reached US$5.5 billion in 2025, giving the United States a goods trade surplus of US$3.7 billion, according to the Office of the US Trade Representative.

Water shapes Morocco’s harvests, its rural incomes and how much grain it must import in dry years. A dam program that stays on schedule makes the country a steadier market and partner, while delays would leave it more exposed to the next drought.

The ministry tally does not say on what date the dam-by-dam percentages were measured, and they match the figures Le360 published in September line by line, so some sites may have moved on since. A ministry update on 14 October already put the Mokhtar Soussi raising above 85%, at a cost of about MAD 1.3 billion (about US$133 million) rather than the MAD 1.64 billion (about US$168 million) Le360 reported.

Some numbers do not add up cleanly. Ratba’s planned storage appears as 1.9 billion cubic metres in the latest figures but about 1 billion in ministry data Le360 reported in May, and the published costs of the 14 dams add up to less than the MAD 29 billion (about US$2.97 billion) total.

Morocco is building or raising 14 large dams, with about 5 billion cubic metres of planned storage. Two are complete and the last is due in 2031.

The 14 large dams cost more than MAD 29 billion (about US$2.97 billion) in total. A separate plan for 155 small dams costs MAD 6.2 billion (about US$636 million).

They were 65.9% full on 19 October 2026, holding about 11.2 billion cubic metres. A year earlier they were about 32% full.

Ratba in Taounate province is the costliest at MAD 4.37 billion (about US$448 million). Kheng Grou in Figuig, with 1.07 billion cubic metres, is among the largest by storage.

Sources: Ministry of Equipment and Water, Maadialna platform, dam situation as of 19 October 2026 (Arabic) , Ministry of Equipment and Water, Maadialna, works continue on 14 large dams, 16 October 2026 (Arabic) , Ministry of Equipment and Water, Maadialna, Mokhtar Soussi dam raising passes 85%, 14 October 2026 (Arabic) , Office of the US Trade Representative, Morocco , Office of the US Trade Representative, Morocco Free Trade Agreement , Le360, Sept barrages dépassent 80% de réalisation, 19 September 2026 , Le360, Seize chantiers, près de 30 milliards de dirhams engagés, 11 May 2026 , Le Matin, 14 grands barrages en chantier au Maroc, 16 October 2026 , Le Matin, Barrages au Maroc: les dernières pluies reboostent les réserves, 13 October 2026 , Alyaoum24, 14 dams worth more than 29 billion dirhams, 18 October 2026 (Arabic) . Exchange rate: Friday 16 October 2026 close, 9.7560 dirhams per US dollar. All retrieved 19 October 2026.

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