"Since the return of our southern provinces to the motherland in 1975, great achievements have been made in terms of water, electricity and sanitation for a total investment of nearly 30 billion dirhams," El Hafidi told MAP on the sidelines of the 1st MD Sahara Forum, held on November 18 and 19 in Dakhla, at the initiative of the media outlet 'Maroc Diplomatique'.

In 1975, the amount of power that was installed did not exceed 7 megawatts (with 2 MW for Laayoune), he explained, noting that currently, this amount exceeds 1,700 MW, over 76% of which come from renewable energy.

In the water sector, the production rate before the recovery of the southern provinces did not exceed 5,000 cubic meters per day, while today, "we have achieved great capacity: 15 stations in this case, including 7 desalination and the rest of demineralization, he added.

This has allowed the southern provinces to have, at this time, a production capacity that exceeds 160,000 cubic meters per day, he said.

These are "world-class" investments that have enabled the southern provinces, including major cities like Laayoune and Dakhla, to have a remarkable attractiveness to domestic and foreign investors, concluded the DG of ONEE.

The MD Sahara Forum is an annual event that brings together prestigious speakers, officials, decision-makers, analysts and experts in the presence of a relevant audience. According to the organizers, the event aims to tackle themes relating mainly to the development of Morocco's southern provinces.

The 1st edition of the Forum MD Sahara was held under the theme "The southern provinces: great diplomatic openings and new avenues of development".