AMMAN — Secretary-General of the Water Authority Bashar Al-Bataineh, on Tuesday said that the
National Water Conveyance Project will be complete by mid-2026, during a meeting that saw officials discuss Jordan’s water security.
اضافة اعلان
The project aims to desalinate 300 million cubic meters of water from the Red Sea and pump it to the north of the Kingdom, with the project’s costs estimated at $1 billion in its initial stage.
His comments came during a Lower House Committee of Agriculture, Water, and Badia meeting to discuss plans and strategies involving water security and possible solutions to address the effects of this past year’s drought.
The committee meeting was chaired by MP Mohammad Al-Alaqmeh and attended by Manar Mahasneh, secretary general of the Jordan Valley Authority, and Bataineh, secretary general of the Water Authority, as well as representatives from the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Supply.
Alaqmeh said that the government must not conceal any information in light of news being published regarding the water situation, which has a direct impact on people’s lives and the agricultural sector, stressing the need to address the water crisis and to reach a real solution.
Alaqmeh said that the committee discussed plans and strategies in the event of another poor rainy season, the possibility of expanding drilling for wells, and providing water to farmers, in addition to discussing the Jordan Valley Authority’s regulation of Mujib Dam and its impact on fisheries.
He stressed that the National Water Conveyance Project could possibly help address the Kingdom’s water problem in the future if rainfall rates kept dropping.
In June of this year, Jordan narrowed its search of companies to start work on the National Water Conveyance Project, which the Ministry of Water and Irrigation estimates will provide around 300 million cubic meters of desalinated water for Jordan.
In turn, Mahasneh said that the flow of water from Mujib Dam, which has a capacity of 29 million cubic meters, was stopped since the beginning of August for fear of drought.
Regarding rumors about fish dying in Mujib Dam, Mahasneh said that “about 500kg of fish died in the dam, and not a million as rumored,” adding that dams are built only for drinking and irrigation purposes, but there are citizens who raise fish in them.
She indicated that the storage capacity of Wala Dam will be increased from 9 million cubic meters to 25 million cubic meters by the end of 2021.
In addition, the Agricultural Committee discussed increasing the quantity of fodder allocated to farmers. Assistant Secretary-General of
Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply Imad Al-Bazour confirmed that steps are being taken to increase it.
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