National Red Sea Water Desalination Project in Aqaba Construction and Real Estate

The Minister of Water confirms that Jordan will submit to the London conference to be held at the end of this month several important water projects

Amman - Minister of Water and Irrigation Raed Abu Al-Saud announced that his ministry is moving towards the National Red Sea Water Desalination Project in Aqaba, at a time when the kingdom's solutions for securing water for citizens are now available without any available options.

A side of Aqaba beach
Abu Saud said during a workshop organized by the Edama Society for Energy, Water and Environment yesterday, entitled "Opportunities and Challenges of the Water Situation in Jordan", that all that remains of Jordan alternative solutions to face the reality of water is the national project, The Bahrain Red-Dead (regional) carrier is still in place.

Al-Ghad added that the decision to take this matter will take into account the matters related to the international law related to the Wadi Araba Convention, especially the location of the planned desalination plant, and will proceed as part of its systematic steps.

The workshop was attended by the President of the Edama Duraid Mahasneh Association, and the French Ambassadors David Libertoli and Australian Miles Armitage; the Jordanian Contractors' Captain Ahmad Al Yaqoub, representatives of diplomatic missions to the Kingdom and heads of international bodies working in the water and energy sectors.

He added that the international community is interested in Jordan's priorities regarding the provision of drinking water, which will have no solution except through the national project, stressing that the priorities of the international community and donors will not only be to "save" the Dead Sea, In the Bahrain regional carrier project, and even more importantly, water security for Jordanians.

Abu Saud pointed out that Jordan will submit to the London conference to be held at the end of this month in several important water projects, pointing out that all matters related to the laws relating to the construction of a desalination plant in Aqaba should be studied. At the same time, The pace of work on the joint carrier project with the Palestinian Authority and Israel, after a long period of the joint agreement since 2005.

He pointed out that the Bahrain Transporter project was one of Jordan's strategic options to travel in order to secure the required quantities of water amidst the large population growth witnessed by the Kingdom due to the influx of Syrian and Iraqi refugees and others, thus increasing the already scarce demand for water.

The Minister of Water stated that Jordan will go through the national project by setting up a desalination plant in southern Aqaba to pump water from there after its desalination to Amman, at a time when the ministry is moving to establish a national water carrier from Aqaba to the north.

Abu Su'ud pointed out that desalination plants face the challenge of energy and electricity. The ministry is considering alternative solutions. The focus is on solar energy, which provides more than 6 hours of night time, thus saving the bill of energy consumed to pump water.

On the other hand, Abu al-Saud considered that the performance of the current rainy season is very high, but started with a weak water reservoir in the dams. He confirmed the ministry's intention to start several projects to ensure the provision of renewable water sources such as: Watani, water loss, Renewable in sewage and other plants.

He pointed to the priority of implementing projects to secure additional quantities of water; and reducing the cost of energy bill borne by the water sector, reaching record levels last year, exceeding 262 million dinars, by reducing the cost of energy and expansion of renewable energy programs, to operate different sources.

He pointed out that the electricity bill recorded a significant increase from 46 million dinars in 2006, reaching more than 260 million last year.

The Ministry is seeking to expand the coverage of new areas of sewage services to reach 80% of the employed by 2025; improve the efficiency of operation of water and sanitation facilities, reduce waste and promote private sector partnership.

The Minister reviewed the strategy of the water sector for the years 2019-2025; aims to bridge the gap between demand and availability of water resources by more than 15%; develop available ones to increase the per capita share of potable water, implement projects that provide water resources with an additional 180 million m3, Treatment at the currently used wastewater treatment plants from 116 million cubic meters for the purposes of restricted cultivation, reaching 240 million by 2025.

He also pointed to the implementation of pilot development projects, through the cultivation of feedstocks that provide jobs for the people of the regions, and achieve economic returns, within projects in areas away from cities.

For his part, warned of the sustainability of the water deficit in Jordan, while the import of energy, can not import water or find simple solutions to them, pointing out that despite the excellent management of the water sector in Jordan, but the fulfillment of water requirements is very difficult With limited resources and depletion of scarce water.

Mohsenah said that Jordan is facing great challenges in energy and water, but the efforts of the ministry are appreciated, especially in light of the shortage of water resources, high production costs and the presence of large numbers of refugees, stressing that no one suffers from lack of drinking water.