APA-Rabat (Morocco) Morocco is considering the use of nuclear technology to produce electricity by the year 2017, Energy Minister, Amina Benkhadra has announced here.

Answering an oral question from the second House of the Moroccan parliament on Tuesday, she said the production of nuclear energy to supply the kingdom’s power grid would be technically feasible in ten year’s time.

Mrs. Benkhadra also revealed that studies had been conducted in collaboration with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for the selection and technical fitness of the sites to host the nuclear plants.

She said Morocco, in cooperation with the IAEA and other partners had been working on nuclear technologies to produce electricity and desalinate sea water. At present, Morocco has a two-megawatt nuclear reactor.

According to Moroccan experts, the use of nuclear technologies has become a necessity in the production of electricity and desalination of sea water on the kingdom’s 3,500 km of coast.

Corroborating sources here told APA that three nuclear powers, the Unites states, France, and Russia have shown interest in the Moroccan offer of collaboration.

An international bid is to be issued soon for the launch of the nuclear programme, the same sources said, adding that France, the second world nuclear energy producer has "good chances" of winning the tender.

Furthermore, during French President, Nicolas Sarkozy’s State visit to Morocco on October 2007, Paris had expressed its readiness to help Morocco, with which it had signed civilian nuclear agreements and conventions.

The French nuclear giant ’Areva’ and the Moroccan phosphates company have signed an agreement allowing for the extraction of the uranium contained in the phosphoric acid of which Morocco is the first world exporter, with over 40 per cent of the market shares.