Jordan Times
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
JD5.86b water strategy
finalized
AMMAN (JT) - A Royal panel tasked with formulating a new JD5.86 billion
water strategy on Tuesday presented its final report to His Majesty King
Abdullah, who gave the go-ahead for the implementation of the plan.
The strategy entails a series of water megaprojects to meet the Kingdom's needs.
Chairing a meeting of the Royal Water Committee, His Majesty underlined the
urgency to accelerate the implementation of vital projects listed in the plan.
His Majesty instructed HRH Prince Feisal, the panel’s chairperson, and committee
members to present proposals to overcome any difficulties hampering the
implementation of the strategy in the future.
The strategy, which covers the period up to 2022, seeks to achieve a set of
objectives, including the provision of sufficient and safe drinking water,
maximising the benefits of surface water and bringing an end to arbitrary
pumping from underground wells, among others.
According to the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, the per capita water share in
Jordan is estimated at 145 cubic metres annually, while the international water
poverty line is 1,000 cubic metres per capita annually.
Prime Minister Nader Dahabi said the government would endeavour to implement the
strategy, emphasising the government's keenness to execute the Disi Water
Conveyance Project as soon as possible, among other projects in the sector.
The premier also pointed to the ongoing World Bank-funded environmental impact
and feasibility studies on the Red-Dead Canal scheme.
Minister of Water and Irrigation Raed Abu Saud said the strategy entails a
decreasing reliance on underground water from 32 per cent currently to 17 per
cent by the end of the implementation period and an increased use of treated
wastewater in agriculture from 10 per cent to 13 per cent. Dependence on water
desalination projects will grow from 1 per cent presently to 31 per cent in
2022.
The plan cites a water deficit of 638 million cubic metres in 2007. The minister
said better water management is the answer to this problem. Even when the Disi
project is fully implemented, he told the meeting, the deficit will be about 503
million cubic metres in 2022. These figures highlight the vitality of
implementing desalination projects under the Red-Dead project, he said.
It also entails reducing the percentage of water loss, said the minister, adding
that the total cost of the strategy includes the government's contribution to
projects implemented by the private sector.
Abu Saud, who reviewed the strategy's goals, said its implementation requires
effective institutional reforms and using water resources competently.
Institutional reforms of the water sector require enacting a new water law,
separating operational from administrative work, and production from
distribution operations, activating the role of the Water Council and creating a
commission to regulate the sector, said the minister.
Such reforms, he added, also require establishing a court for water issues and
increasing reliance on ICT in the management of the sector.