Jordan Times
Friday, May 19, 2006
USTDA extends
$158,000 grant to NEPCO
A $158,000 grant agreement extended by the United States Trade and Development
Agency (USTDA) was signed at the Ministry of Planning and International
Cooperation on Thursday. The grant will go to the National Electric Power
Company (NEPCO) to finance electricity-related studies seeking to improve the
performance of the Jordanian electrical system. Through the studies, NEPCO will
explore ways to upgrade the effectiveness and the power of electricity
conveyance. It will also look into ways to reduce the amount of fuel used to
generate electricity, in order to reduce the country’s oil bill which accounted
last year for 20 per cent of Jordan’s gross domestic product. The grant is part
of the US technical assistance for the country during this year. In 2005, USTDA
extended a $363,000 grant to NEPCO to carry out a feasibility study on conveying
electricity. According to Planning and International Cooperation Minister Suhair
Al- Ali, USTDA has provided over the last ten years around $5.8 million in
support to Jordan.