London, 29 August 2020 (SPS) – The Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (MASEN) plans to build a third solar power plant in Al Argoub in the occupied city of Dakhla in violation of international law which does not grant any mandate to Morocco in this matter, reports the Western Sahara Resource Watch (WSRW).
The NGO, citing media sources, reports concrete plans by MASEN to build a solar power plant near the agro-food infrastructure of Dakhla, a city located in the middle of the coast of Western Sahara, illegally occupied by Morocco.
This is the third project that Morocco intends to implement in the occupied Sahrawi territories after the «Noor Laayoune» with a capacity of 80 MW and «Noor Boudjdour» (20 MW).
The two units developed by the Saudi company Acwa Power are operational since 2018.
The details of the project, revealed by MASEN, mainly concern the location of the energy infrastructure that Morocco wants to erect in Al Argoub on the occupied Dakhla Bay.
The choice of the location of the power plant is not accidental since it is close to the many hotels erected on the west bank of the city of Dakhla, most of them belonging to one of the members of the Moroccan royal family.
El Argoub is also close to several large energy-consuming agricultural greenhouses, whose production is intended for export.
The environmental impact assessment of the project was reportedly conducted in August by the Wali of Dakhla Oued Ed-Dahab, according to WSRW.
Included since 1966 in the list of Non-Self-Governing Territories, and therefore eligible for the implementation of UN General Assembly Resolution 1514 on the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, Western Sahara is the last colony in Africa, occupied since 1975 by Morocco, supported by France. (SPS)
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Origen: Morocco plans to erect third solar power plant in occupied Dakhla | Sahara Press Service