Jordan, Germany sign 44m-euro solar energy grant

AMMAN — Jordan and Germany on Tuesday signed a 44-million-euro grant agreement to fund the Energy Supply for Host Communities and Syrian Refugees project’s second phase, according to a Planning and International Cooperation Ministry statement. 

Planning and International Cooperation Minister Imad Fakhoury signed the grant agreement, provided by the German government’s KfW Development Bank, in the presence of German Ambassador to Jordan Birgitta Siefker-Eberle and Sawsan Arouri, KfW deputy director in Jordan.

The project aims to reduce electricity costs by generating electricity from solar energy at a 30-35megawatt capacity.

At the signing ceremony, Fakhoury said the grant is a step in the implementation process of the commitments Germany made during the London donor conference to support Syrian refugees and the region, held in February 2016.

The planning minister highlighted the importance of having the international community continue to support Jordan, especially by increasing grants  for the implementation of projects aimed to boost the resilience of host communities under the Jordan Response Plan 2017-2019. 

Fakhoury said the grant money will be used to implement the project, including the funding of the solar energy system, connecting the network, consultation services and additional measures. 

Institutions hoping to reduce their electricity costs through the project will include some hospitals, health centres and water service providers in refugees host communities, and in refugee camps, with specific institutions to be determined later, in coordination with the concerned authorities, the planning minister said, adding that 50 per cent of the financial savings from the project will be allocated to the said institutions. 

He thanked the German government for its continuous support to Jordan, highlighting the two countries’ historic and strategic bilateral relations.