‘Maintenance work on northern water networks under way to meet summer demand’

AMMAN — The Ministry of Water and Irrigation has started rehabilitating a pipe that conveys water from the Khaw reservoir in Zarqa to the Zaatari Pumping Station in Mafraq, a government official said Thursday.

The rehabilitation of the water main, implemented by a local contractor, is expected to be completed within four months, the ministry official added.

“The rehabilitation project will cost JD285,000 and entails replacing the existing pipe with a 600-millimetre steel pipe. Once implemented, water supply to the northern governorates is expected to improve,” the official told The Jordan Times.

The rehabilitation of the pipeline is one of several projects the ministry is implementing in the northern and central regions, where tens of thousands of Syrian refugees reside, according to the official, who preferred anonymity. 

During the past week, the ministry signed agreements to implement another three water projects in the Mafraq, Balqa and Zarqa governorates, he noted.

In Balqa, 35km northwest of the capital, the ministry will carry out maintenance on the governorate’s water networks at a cost of JD1.5 million to reduce water loss and enhance supply.

The project is expected to be completed within 18 months, the official said.

In Salt city in Balqa, the ministry will also rehabilitate a water main that supplies northern Byoudah with water, according to the official, who said that the JD54,000 project will be completed within two months.

In Zarqa Governorate, some 22km east of Amman, the ministry is drilling new wells to increase the amount of water distributed to residents during summer, according to the official. 

The wells will be drilled within two months at a cost of JD160,000, he added.

All the projects are funded by the Gulf grant, according to the ministry.

In 2011, the Gulf Cooperation Council allocated $5 billion to finance development projects in Jordan during the 2012-2016 period. The grant is divided between Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, with each country paying $1.25 billion.

A list of development projects was prepared by a committee, with some $425.4 million allocated for water and sanitation projects.