(Ecofin Agency) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) reportedly plans to grant Morocco’s ministry of agriculture a €120 million sovereign loan to finance part of a hydro-agricultural project in the Saïss plain.

The loan will be used to build the first portion of the 66-km water transmission canal connecting the upcoming M’dez dam which is also to be built under the project, to the Saïss plain. The canal’s construction is part of a €490 million hydro-agricultural mega-project. Works for the project were launched in January 2015, by King Mohamed VI.

The dam, for its part, is expected to be operational in 2018. It will retain water of regions where it is in excess for regions that lack it despite having a significant development potential. The M’dez dam will have a water retention capacity of 700 million m3, of which 125 million to irrigate every year targeted areas.

4,800 farmers and 22,000 hectares will benefit from the dam, according to preliminary studies. It will also overcome low ground levels, boost farmers’ per hectare yields and revenues, and generate around 3,000 jobs.