Jordan calls for funding for major water project

AMMAN – Jordan’s Planning and International Cooperation Minister Nasser Shraideh on Tuesday underscored the importance of providing concessional funding for a major water project in the country.

The Aqaba-Amman Water Desalination and Conveyance National Project, estimated to cost some 2.5 billion U.S. dollars, will be fully implemented on Jordanian soil to provide some 300 million cubic meters of desalinated water a year, the minister said during a meeting with international financial institutions.

Shraideh said the provision of concessional funding for the project would help cut the total cost so as to provide citizens and economic sectors with water at a reasonable price. Briefing the meeting participants on his country’s water challenges linked to a refugee crisis, climate change, population growth and industrial demands, the minister said the project is regarded as the most important national investment in the economic priorities program for 2021-2023.

In February 2020, Jordan launched the Aqaba-Amman water project, the largest one in the country which will consist of a seawater conveyance system, a desalination facility in Aqaba and a freshwater conveyance system. Jordan is one of the poorest countries in terms of water resources, as its water share per capita has declined to fewer than 100 cubic meters per year over the past decades.