European Investment Bank (EIB) will provide a soft loan of €70.2 million to Jordan to finance a project designed to upgrade water-use efficiency in the Jordan Valley region and provide water for other uses in Amman and Irbid.
According to a press release by the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, the loan is expected to benefit about 300,000 people. Under the project, the ministry added, a water transport pipeline will be built on the King Abdullah Canal to reduce water losses, improve water resource management and rehabilitate old irrigation networks in the Jordan Valley with a total length of 482 km.
A water reservoir with a capacity of 30,000 cubic meters will also be built, to enable the Jordan Valley Authority to supply water to farmers in the dry seasons. The project will enable the stakeholders to provide advisory services to support farmers and water user associations in developing concepts to reduce illegal water use.
The agreement was signed by Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Nasser Shraideh, and Minister of Water and Irrigation, Muhammad Al-Najjar, in the presence of Ambassador of the European Union in Amman, Maria Hadjitheodosiou, Secretary General of the Jordan Valley Authority, Manar Mahasneh, and EIB representative in Amman, Suad Al-Farsi.
Shraideh valued the support provided by the EIB as a development partner for the Kingdom, noting that the Bank has provided soft financing over the past years for projects in key sectors such as industry, mining, energy, education, water and sanitation, transportation, private sector development and infrastructure.
EIB Vice President Gelsomina Viglioti affirmed the Bank’s commitment to supporting the water sector in Jordan and ensuring better use of Jordan’s scarce water resources in cooperation with Jordanian and international partners.