U.S. Pumps Cash Into Jordan Desal Plant

The U.S. is pumping money into the water sector in Jordan, helping the nation build a desalination plant.

“The U.S. will extend some $125 million over the next five years to support Jordan’s water sector and projects in water conservation and efficiency,” The Jordan Times reported, citing U.S. Ambassador Alice Wells.

“The ambassador highlighted U.S. support to the water sector in Jordan over the past six decades, noting that Washington will continue this support, including to the Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Project (Red-Dead), which plays a crucial role in saving the Dead Sea and meeting Jordan’s rising needs on water,” the report said.

The funding will help support a desalination project underway in Jordan.

“Stressing the significance of the Red-Dead Project, Water Minister Hazem Nasser said 300 million cubic metres (mcm) of water will be pumped each year under the first phase of the project. Under this phase, a desalination plant will be built in Aqaba, producing some 65 mcm of fresh water per year. The remaining 235 mcm will be pumped into the shrinking Dead Sea,” the report said.

Jordan is a nation facing severe water challenges. King Abdullah II described the situation like this back in 1999: "Our water situation forms a strategic challenge that cannot be ignored. We have to balance between drinking water needs and industrial and irrigation water requirements. Drinking water remains the most essential and the highest priority issue."

Jordan has very limited water resources. A 2009 report by water ministers in the nation said that in 2007, “the demand exceeded resources by 638 mcm/year and the allocations exceeded resources by 73 mcm. Annual per capita water availability is 145m3 /year.”

To read more about the world’s desalination projects visit Water Online’s Desalination Solutions Center.