In October 2021, Morocco World News reported that a group of French business people had visited Dakhla to discuss investment with local officials. Mounir Houari, who headed Dakhla's Regional Investment Center (CRI), presented the Moroccan government's plans for a large desalination plant. It was intended to provide irrigation water for 5,000 hectares of farmland. According to local sources, the area was also to host two logistics platforms, a 900 MW wind farm, the port of Dakhla Atlantic and a free zone.
The report showed that desalination in Dakhla was presented mainly as a tool for agriculture and as part of a wider investment package. Foreign business people were being courted as partners.
Source: Morocco World News