Water: The national carrier project is making great progress in technical and financial terms

Al - Anbat - NEVEEN - AL- JARRAH 

The Secretary-General of the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Dr. Jihad Al-Mahamid, confirmed that the implementation of the national carrier project is making very great progress in terms of technical and financial aspects and the completion of the necessary procedures for the progress of the project.

Dr. Mahamid said in a statement to Jordan News Agency (Petra) today, Tuesday, that the project will be implemented in partnership between the public and private sectors on the "build, operate and transfer" system, explaining that the best 5 coalitions were qualified to choose the best offers submitted to start implementing the project.

The Secretary-General expected to submit the proposals of the coalitions at the end of this year, to start the financial closure procedures and complete the procedures related to technical and financial matters, so that the implementation of this strategic national project, which is considered one of the important alternatives for the water sector, especially since Jordan has no alternatives to supplying safe and sustainable water sources, is expected. From within the national borders, except through desalinating the Red Sea water, and transferring it to the different governorates, to compensate for the increasing demand for water.

He explained that the project came in implementation of the royal directives, and a commitment from the government to speed up the implementation of projects that ensure the achievement of national water security, as it falls within the program of government economic priorities for work 2021-2023 in partnership with the private sector, and several meetings were held with institutions and multilateral international financing funds. To this end.

On the sixteenth of last March, the Ministry of Water and Irrigation issued the final document of the project "RFP Bid Documents for the National Carrier Project for Desalination of Sea Water in Aqaba to be used for drinking,” to the qualified developers of the project, "previously qualified coalitions of five global coalitions,” which will guarantee Continuous water supply to most regions of the Kingdom until the year 2040, at a capital cost of about 2.5 billion US dollars.

He added that the project is one of the government's first priorities to secure drinking water for the population of the Kingdom, as it allows the ministry to implement its strategic plans related to improving the reality of groundwater and the problems of over-pumping from underground wells to restore its capacity to store water over the coming years, and reduce water losses in both its physical and commercial parts by raising the efficiency of water. Networks and water supply improvement.

He added that the project will improve the regularity of water access to citizens around the clock in most regions of the Kingdom through continuous supply, and achieving sustainable development for all vital sectors such as: the agricultural, investment, commercial, industrial and tourism sectors, in line with government plans aimed at developing the national economy, in addition to achieving goals It aims to confront the effects of climate change, and find solutions to the shortage of drinking water, as it will provide additional options if there is a need to benefit from groundwater after its recovery in the coming years.

And he indicated that the project, which is one of the largest sea water desalination projects in the world, aims to desalinate the Red Sea water in Aqaba "Aqaba - Amman", and follow the best environmental practices, and make maximum use of renewable energy to operate the project, and to provide all governorates of the Kingdom with drinking water with a capacity of 300 One million cubic meters annually, which is a priority for Jordanian water security, through a transmission line of about 400 km length to all governorates by 2028.