Nasser Al-Sharida, Jordan’s Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, announced at a news conference on Thursday a new water project worth USD 1.83 billion. The scheme is to transport 300 million cubic feet of desalinated water from the Red Sea to various regions of the country, reports ZAWYA.
The project will allow the country to desalinate approximately 300 million cubic feet of water from Al-Aqaba bay and the Red Sea and transfer the resource to several provinces.
Jordan is the second most water scarce country in the world. The country’s annual renewable water resources are less than 100 m3 per person.
The minister explained that the project has been planned to provide water to a growing population that is causing over-consumption.
The water project is scheduled to begin at the end of 2023 or early 2024 and will take four years to complete. The project includes the construction of a water desalination plant at Aqaba bay and the installation of a 450-km-long pipeline from Al-Aqaba to the northern provinces, in addition to setting up pumping stations, along with affiliated infrastructure work.
The Jordan authorities have promoted bidding for the $1.8 billion water project and affiliated documents have been distributed to the qualified developers – five international consortium, according to ZAWYA.
