Morocco Ifahsa Pumped Hydropower Storage (PHS) Project (WB-P511426)

Regions
  • Middle East and North Africa
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Countries
  • Morocco
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Specific Location
Ifahsa, 14 km from Chefchaouen, in northern Morocco, near the Laou valley and south of Tetouan
Whenever identified, the area within countries where the impacts of the investment may be experienced. Exact locations of projects may not be identified fully or at all in project documents. Please review updated project documents and community-led assessments.
Financial Institutions
  • World Bank (WB)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Approved
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
A
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Jul 1, 2026
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
Office National de l'Electricite et de l'Eau potable (ONEE)
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Energy
  • Hydropower
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 265.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Loan Amount (USD)
$ 220.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Grant Amount (USD)
$ 45.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 500.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Bank Documents
Media Documents
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ WB website

Updated in EWS Oct 12, 2026

Disclosed by Bank Aug 14, 2025

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the World Bank, the proposed Project will provide ancillary services to enhance the transmission system flexibility and enable higher integration of new wind and solar generation and will therefore enhance Morocco's energy security through more reliance on domestic energy resources.

The proposed Project will finance the preparation, construction, and commissioning of the Ifahsa PHS plant with an expected capacity of 300 MW. The project is located 14 km from Chefchaouen in northern Morocco, near the Laou valley and south of Tetouan, the Ifahsa PHS plant will feature two reversible pump-turbine units of 150 MW each, operating with a maximum flow of 44 m3/s in turbine mode and 37 m3/s in pumping mode. During off-peak hours, the plant will use dispatched renewable electricity from the grid to pump water from the lower to the upper reservoir. During peak hours, it will generate electricity to meet the peak demand in the Morocco's grid system, by conveying the stored water from the upper to the lower reservoir through hydraulic turbines. the PHS plant will be connected by 400 kV transmission to the national grid.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

According to the World Bank, the project will be funded as follows:

African Development Bank 235.00
Clean Technology Fund 30.00
IBRD Surplus-Funded Livable Planet Fund 15.00
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development 220.00
Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

As stated by Devex, the National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE) is the pillar of the energy strategy and arm of the State in the sector of water and sanitation in Morocco. Since the mid-1990s, the Agency has been on all fronts: generalization of access to electricity and drinking water, sewage treatment and liquid sanitation service development, modernization and expansion of networks of production, marketing and distribution of electrical and hydraulic resources, fight against waste and implementation of new instruments and techniques for saving water and electricity ...

ONEE, created in 2012 by the National Office of Electricity (ONE) created in 1963 and the National Office of Drinking Water (ONEP) created in 1972, is fully involved in major structuring projects for Morocco, providing it with infrastructure for the production, transmission and distribution of electricity and water, as well as the purification of wastewater, which is essential for the country's sustainable development. 

Private Actor 1 Private Actor 1 Role Private Actor 1 Sector Relation Private Actor 2 Private Actor 2 Role Private Actor 2 Sector
- - - - Office National De L'electricite Et De L'eau Potable Client Infrastructure

Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

World Bank Team Leaders:

Noreddine Citroen - Senior Energy Specialist
Lucine Flor Lominy - Senior Energy Specialist
Anas Benbarka - Lead Energy Specialist

No contacts provided at the time of disclosure.

Client - Office National de l'Electricite et de l'Eau potable (ONEE):

Tarik Hamane - General Director
Email: dgsecretariat@onee.ma 

Asmaa Sghiouar - Head of financing division
Email: sghiouar@onee.ma 

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

To submit an information request for project information, you will have to create an account to access the Access to Information request form. You can learn more about this process at: https://www.worldbank.org/en/access-to-information/request-submission

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF THE WORLD BANK

The World Bank Inspection Panel is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by a World Bank-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the Inspection Panel, they may investigate to assess whether the World Bank is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. You can contact the Inspection Panel or submit a complaint by emailing ipanel@worldbank.org. Information on how to file a complaint and a complaint request form are available at: https://www.inspectionpanel.org/how-to-file-complaint

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How it works