Water ministry signs €74-million loan with German bank
shahennews
The Ministry of Water and Irrigation and Germany’s KfW Development Bank on Tuesday signed two €74-million loan agreements as part of the seventh phase of a water resource management program.
During the signing ceremony, Minister of Water and Irrigation Mohammad Najjar said that the two agreements will have a positive impact on improving water supply operations and raising the capacity of the water sector to face the effects of climate adaptation.
They aim to boost the water supply systems in a number of regions of the Kingdom and develop the irrigation system in the Jordan Valley, after completing all related works and projects, which will develop the water system across the Kingdom especially in the face of climate change and the development of water resources.
The minister said that the financing program for the seventh phase, estimated at €50 million, will support the water sector strategies and the sustainability of biodiversity. The program consists of four components; rehabilitation of water networks in Madaba to ensure the modernization of water supply systems, construction of a water treatment plant for the Al-Haydan Valley waters and the Al-Waala Dam, and the development of surface and ground water sources in the Al-Haydan region.
The seventh phase, he indicated, aims to enhance the water supply for the Madaba governorate and areas south of Amman to serve more than 20,000 people in Madaba, and 100,000 south of Amman, and to develop a new water source in the basalt area (east of Al-Aqib) by rehabilitating a group of wells to enhance water supply to the northern regions and serve more than 100,000 people, and provide the tools and spare parts for the Water Authority to address the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On the financing program for the fifth phase, Najjar stated that it includes a project to support the capabilities of the Jordan Valley Authority to address climate change by reducing lost water in the King Abdullah Canal in the Jordan Valley, develop the irrigation system and enhance the ability of 11,500 farmers to improve irrigation systems and reduce losses in a way that improves and raises irrigation efficiency for farmers in the valley areas.
The third phase of the climate adaptation response program aims to develop 80 per cent of the irrigation system in the Jordan Valley, which is funded by the German government and the European Union.
Development counselor at the German embassy in Amman Nicolas von Kalm pointed out that Germany will remain a key partner of Jordan to face the various challenges, especially the burdens of Syrian refugees, water shortage and climate change.
//Petra// AJ
