Jordan Times
Friday, June 4, 2004
International Water Demand Conference concludes
By Rami Abdelrahman
DEAD SEA — The European Union announced on Thursday it would support the
establishment of the Red-Dead canal, pending results of negotiations with the
Ministry of Water and Irrigation.
During a press conference at the end of the five-day International Water Demand
Conference, Chairman of the EU Task Force on Water Walter Mazzitti told The
Jordan Times that 25 countries are interested in supporting the “Saving the Dead
Sea” initiative, which aims at diverting Red Sea water to the Dead Sea to
prevent its expected disappearance in 2050.
Minister of Water and Irrigation and Minister of Agriculture Hazem Nasser
welcomed the announcement and called on Arab countries to sign water-sharing
agreements with neighbouring states. Mazzitti also said the EU would be
interested in supporting any bilateral water agreement in the Arab world.
Nasser reiterated that the Palestinian Authority and Israel had sent
confirmation to the government of their approval of the terms of reference for a
$10 million feasibility study, which will be sent to the World Bank and donors
in the next two weeks. He added the ministry would send the EU an official
letter asking for their support for the project.
Once established, the project will provide more than 850mcm of water a year for
desalination, putting an end to Jordan's water poverty, and would generate 550
megawatts of electricity, making it self-sufficient in covering its operational
costs. The total cost of the canal is expected to total $1 billion.
With this announcement, the conference concluded its 21 workshops and 80
seminars with a registered attendance of around 1,000 water experts, officials,
and journalists.
The seminar was organised by the Water Ministry and the USAID's Water Efficiency
and Public Information for Action project (WEPIA), which will complete its
operations by the end of this year.
Mona Grieser, head of WEPIA said USAID was planning to continue working with
local water sector institutions through different projects that will succeed
WEPIA in 2005.
The next conference will be held in 2006 on the shores of the Dead Sea.