Amman, June 2 (Petra) Minister of Water and Irrigation Raed Abu Soud, signed on Monday the implementation agreement for the Northeast Balqa sewage project. The project is financed through a joint package of €60 million in soft loans from the French Development Agency and a €15 million grant from the European Union to build a wastewater treatment plant and associated pipelines.

According to a ministry statement, the agreement signing was attended by the French Ambassador to Jordan, Alexis Le Cour Grandmaison, and the EU Ambassador, Pierre-Christophe Chatzisavas. The move follows a recent Cabinet decision approving the project, which supports Jordan’s 2023-2040 Water Strategy and economic modernization vision, enhancing government efforts to improve services for citizens.

Abu Soud emphasized the government’s accelerated efforts through the Ministry and Water Authority to implement vital projects that provide high-quality services. He noted this project as essential infrastructure to handle treated water from the National Conveyor project and the Madaba treatment plant.

The minister highlighted that the project builds on extensive technical, environmental, social, and feasibility studies conducted by the Water Authority in recent years, with all necessary approvals secured.

The project aims to improve sewage services in 63 communities in Balqa governorate, significantly enhancing environmental conditions by replacing the existing high-pollution Al-Baqa treatment plant with a new facility near King Talal Dam. The new plant will cover 48 dunums and have an initial capacity of 36,000 cubic meters per day, expandable to 54,000 cubic meters per day. Additionally, the project includes replacing the Ain Al-Basha pumping station with a gravity-fed pipeline, boosting operational efficiency and reducing long-term costs.

The Water Authority divided the project into two tenders pipelines and treatment plant and is in the process of awarding contracts after technical and financial evaluations. All environmental and regulatory approvals have been obtained.

The project is expected to serve approximately 200,000 residents, in addition to 400,000 current beneficiaries, with future expansion potential to cover over 600,000 people.

Abu Soud described the initiative as a qualitative leap in sewage services in Jordan and Balqa, with substantial environmental and service impacts. He expressed gratitude to international partners, especially the French government via the French Development Agency and the European Union, for their vital support aligned with sustainable development goals and the national water vision.

In a related development, a contract extension addendum for the loan and grant agreements was signed in coordination with the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation following all necessary approvals, including from the Public Debt Committee, allowing project commencement within the newly approved timeline.

//Petra// AF

02/06/2025 23:44:27