AMMAN —
The total value of pledges by countries and donor organizations for the
National Water Carrier project has risen to more than $2.2 billion, in the form
of grants and loans, according to data from the Ministry of Planning and
International Cooperation, Al-Mamlaka TV reported.
اضافة اعلان
On Sunday, Minister of Planning and
International Cooperation Nasser Al-Shraideh said that the
International Finance Corporation (IFC), the investment arm of the World Bank, pledged to
provide an investment loan of up to $400 million to finance the project.
In March, Shraideh announced the results
of the first conference in which donor countries and financiers made pledges to
the National Water Carrier Project, where $1.83 billion was provided in grants
and loans to implement the project.
The donor conference resulted in raising
approximately $447 million in grants, $522 million in development loans, and
$861 million in soft investment loans.
The minister said that the development
loans will contribute to reducing the financial costs of the project. Some
loans are payable over periods of up to 20 years, and have grace periods of up
to four years.
The US provided $700 million, divided
into $300 million in grants and $400 million in soft investment loans.
The
EU pledged grants totaling $147
million, in addition to development loans totaling $522 million, and soft
investment loans totaling $461 million.
These amounts were distributed as
follows: 50 million euros in grants from the EU, in addition to another 65
million euros in grants from Germany, 25 million euros in grants from the
Netherlands, and other grants worth 7 million euros from France and Italy.
Loans were distributed as follows: 100
million euros from France, 50 million euros from Italy, 25 million euros from
Spain, 219 million euros from the European Investment Bank, and 44 million
euros from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Prime Minister
Bisher Al-Khasawneh had
announced that the project, which will meet some of Jordan’s water needs until
2040, will be operational in 2027.
The National Water Carrier is the
largest project that the government has included in its Economic Priorities
Program 2021–2023, with the aim of providing about 300 million cubic meters
annually to meet the basic needs of drinking water of the capital and some
governorates.
At the end of the March donor
conference, Shraideh said that a second round is scheduled to be held in March
2023, and expressed hope that more grants will be forthcoming for the project.
The
National Water Strategy 2016–2025
estimated that water demand “will exceed available water resources by more than
26 percent by 2025.”
According to the Economic and Social
Council, water losses in Jordan amount to 45 percent, based on the figures of
the Ministry of Water.
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