| Country : | JORDAN |
| Type of project : | Loan |
Improving water supply in the city of Amman (Jordan)
Sector: Water
Implementation: DIWACO
Country: Jordan
Context
Jordan is one of the ten countries in the world most affected by water scarcity. Less than 70% of demand is met and the situation is tending to worsen. This water shortage first affects cities, particularly Amman where inhabitants have access to water on average less than twice a week. In this context, the Jordanian authorities have expressed their will to improve the distribution of water resources between agricultural, industrial and municipal demand and to enhance its effectiveness.The Jordanian authorities have wanted to use the resources of the Disi aquifer for several years in order to supply Amman with good quality drinking water. The implementation of the project would seem the only short/medium term solution for increasing available water volumes in the capital. These aquifer resources are among the largest in the world. They are located in the south of the country and are shared with Saudi Arabia.
Objectives
The project will help improve living conditions for the population of Amman by supplying water to roughly 2.5 million inhabitants. It will also reduce the exploitation of certain renewable water resources that are currently being exploited beyond their limits, and will consequently make them sustainable.
Project description
The project is in the form of a BOT contract and aims to build and operate a drinking water supply system that will extract an annual 100 million m3 of underground water reserves from the Disi fossil aquifer and transport the water to the city of Amman. The operating and supply system will have a 50-year lifespan. Works include the construction of a collection well, a supply pipe roughly 320 km long, as well as the various equipment required to operate and maintain the system (collectors, reservoirs, pumping stations, access roads).
Impacts
The project will supply a considerable share of Amman’s drinking water and will therefore make a significant improvement to service quality for the 2.5 million inhabitants. The volumes provided for under the project represent roughly 80% of current consumption in Amman. Due to the reallocation of other resources, the city’s water supply is expected to increase by 50%. A better availability of water will consequently have an important health impact on the population.
Moreover, although the main objective of exploiting the Disi aquifer is to increase water supply in Amman, it will also preserve certain renewable resources whose future is today jeopardised as a result of being exploited beyond their level of sustainability.
Dates and amounts
Start-up: July 2009
Financing: USD100 million Proparco loan