President of the Republic oversees the inauguration and laying of the foundation stone for developmental and service facilities in Zouerate

His Excellency the President of the Republic, Mr. Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, today, Tuesday, in the city of Zouérat, the capital of the Tiris Zemmour region, inaugurated a number of development facilities and projects and laid the foundation stone for other important service projects, as part of the celebration of the 65th anniversary of National Independence Day.

The developmental facilities that His Excellency the President will inaugurate in the city of Zouérat include two new stations, one solar with a capacity of 12 MW, and the other thermal with a capacity of 30 MW, representing 29% of clean energy.

These two projects aim to increase electricity production in line with the development of activities of the National Industrial and Mining Company (SNIM), in addition to meeting the growing energy needs at both social and economic levels, as well as increasing the share of clean energy in the energy mix of the National Industrial and Mining Company (SNIM).

The first project includes: with a financial cost of $10,757,284.2 fully financed by the National Company for Industry and Mines; and involves a 12-megawatt solar power plant, the installation and setup of 21,840 photovoltaic panels, each with a capacity of 550 watts, and the integration of 34 units for converting direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC), in addition to the necessary electrical connections and technical and administrative equipment for the operation of the plant.

The cost of the second project, concerning the thermal power plant, reached €56,448,596, funded by the SNIM treasury; it consists of 3 generators, each with a capacity of 10 megawatts, all running on fuel oil and diesel, and three sub-stations for power distribution, including one sub-station at 11 kilovolts and two sub-stations at 33 kilovolts, in addition to two parallel power lines at 33 kilovolts, cooling towers, two fuel storage facilities with a total storage capacity of 3,000 cubic meters, administrative offices, and maintenance workshops.

The developmental and service facilities over which His Excellency the President of the Republic will preside today for laying the foundation stone include the second expansion of the Wadi Leqah water desalination plant, after he inaugurated its first expansion two years ago. The new expansion will add 1,000 cubic meters per hour to the water supplied to Zouérat. The cost of this project is 45 million ouguiyas, entirely funded by the SNIM Foundation. The importance of the project lies in increasing water production, keeping pace with SNIM’s activities, and meeting the growing water needs on both social and economic levels.

His Excellency the President of the Republic will also cut the ribbon for laying the foundation stone of the regional hospital construction project in Zouérat.

This important project is part of the urgent program to generalize access to essential services for local development. It is a healthcare facility of category H1 with a capacity of 80 beds, covering a built-up area of 8,630 m², distributed across the following departments: the emergency department, the surgery department which includes three operating rooms, the maternity and child care department, the laboratories department, the radiology department, the outpatient department, and the prevention and vaccination department, in addition to technical and logistical annexes.

This hospital has been designed according to international standards applied in the field of healthcare facilities to ensure comprehensive medical care for the residents of the city of Zouérat under optimal conditions.

The contractual period for its completion is estimated at 24 months, while the total cost of the project amounts to 288,400,000 new ouguiya.

The inauguration ceremony was held in the presence of the minister in charge of the office of the President of the Republic, advisors to the Presidency, the Governor of Tiris Zemmour, the Chairman of the Board of SNIM, and the Managing Director of the National Industrial and Mining Company (SNIM), the Governor of the Zouerate District, local elected officials, leaders of the state’s military and security forces, and a group of senior employees and workers of the Natio