Jordan Times
Wednesday, March 10, 2004
EU, Jordan strengthen partnership in water sector
AMMAN (JT) — The EU and Jordan will sign a 2 million euro agreement today to further support the water sector in the Kingdom, by improving water management, helping reduce water loss, and substantially upgrading the quality of water services in various parts of the country.In the Greater Amman area, the European assistance will contribute to executing a large-scale restructuring and rehabilitation project for the capital's water network, as well as monitoring water and wastewater services, according to a statement released by the European Commission Delegation (ECD) on Tuesday.
Under the agreement, funds are allocated for monitoring the implementation of the As Samra Wastewater Treatment Plant, the Disi project, and the performance of the water company in the Red-Sea port city of Aqaba.
Emphasis is placed on support to the project management unit within the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, as well as on the deployment of technologies allowing efficient monitoring of water losses, which hover around the 50 per cent mark in Amman.
Furthermore, the programme seeks to foster public-private sector partnership as a crucial tool to ensure higher quality standards of water services and a more efficient distribution.
The deal, which is scheduled to be signed by the head of ECD in Amman, Ambassador Robert van der Meulen, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Bassem Awadallah and Minister of Water, Irrigation and Agriculture Hazem Nasser, is an extension to a 2000 agreement under which the EU allocated 5 million euros to fund water projects.
The EU is Jordan's second largest donor and a keen supporter of its socio-economic modernisation drive.
Since 2002, the EU has funded bilateral projects in the Kingdom for over 130 million euros.
In the water sector, the EU has long been at the forefront in the battle to alleviate the country's chronic shortages. Among the latest European initiatives in this field, the ECD in Amman announced late last year two water infrastructure projects that are to benefit tens of thousands of residents in Kufranjeh and Mutah.
The EU-Jordan Association Agreement, signed in 1997 and entered into force on May 1, 2002, sets the long-term framework for EU-Jordan ties within the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, launched in 1995 at the Barcelona Conference.
The “Barcelona Process” aims at building an area of shared prosperity across the Mediterranean Sea, gradually establishing a free trade area between the EU and 12 Mediterranean partners, and creating a unique partnership in the areas of security and political, economic, and cultural cooperation.