German grant to finance solar plant for Zaatari, host communities

AMMAN — Jordan on Wednesday signed a grant agreement with the German Development Bank (KfW) to finance a solar plant to produce electricity for the Zaatari camp and refugee host communities at a value of 15 million euros, according to a statement from the Ministry of Planning and International cooperation.

Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury and Energy Minsiter Ibrahim Saif signed the agreement with the bank. 

The project, one of the priority projects in the Jordan Response Plan 2015, aims at addressing the rising demand on power in the northern region brought on by the increased numbers of Syrian refugees in Jordan.

Signing this agreement comes within the context of bilateral cooperation between the governments of Jordan and Germany in development and humanitarian fields, especially in issues related to Syrian refugees in Jordan, the ministry statement said.

Fakhoury thanked Germany for its constant support to Jordan through grants, technical assistance and soft loans to fund projects in the energy sector. 

In the context of technical cooperation, the Jordanian and German sides also signed another grant agreement of 3.5 million euros to finance transforming solid waste into energy. 

The project aims at collecting, segregating or recycling solid waste to reduce the negative environmental effects on refugee host communities in the northern region.

Fakhoury and Municipal Affairs Minister Waleed Masri signed the agreement with the German Development Cooperation.

Germany has recently pledged to allocate 127.9 million euros as additional assistance to Jordan. Out of this amount, 45 million euros were allocated as soft loans, 30 million euros as grants, and 22.9 million euros as technical assistance. 

Assistance also included earmarking 30 million euros as additional grants to support Syrian refugees and host communities through UNICEF to support water, wastewater and education sectors.