Jordan and Italy have signed an $84 million soft loan agreement to finance a contract for replacing the old water networks in two housing projects in Amman, reported the Jordan Times. The project is the 14th in a series of 15 projects, part of a national program to revamp the kingdom's archaic water infrastructure.
The US, Germany and Italy have joined efforts to upgrade the Amman water network in recent years. The water ministry would soon float the 15th tender, which covers the replacement of the old water network in western Amman, according to Jordanian Water Minister Hazim Nassir.
Donor countries have financed over the past few years several studies showing that some 40 percent of Amman's water resources go unaccounted for — either stolen or wasted due to the inefficiency of the distribution network.
In a bid to check these failures, foreign investors have taken over the management of part of the capital’s distribution network. The most recent project, to be implemented by an Italian company, includes the construction of two water reservoirs. The first, a 14,500-cubic meters capacity reservoir in Dahiat Rashid, and the second in Kharabshah, with a capacity of between 7,000 and 7,500 cubic meters.
Under the contract, the Italian firm will also lay a 1.4-kilometer conveyer pipeline linking the two reservoirs. The contract covers the construction of water chlorination units, and a 2,500 cubic meters pumping station in the Kharabshah area, as well.
In May, Italy has contributed a soft loan of roughly $10 million at 0.5 percent interest to the reform program launched by the Jordanian government with the assistance of the IMF, the World Bank and the EU. The loan was intended to finance equipment, technology transfer and technical training programs for the public and the private sectors, and managed by the Central Bank of Jordan. — (Mean Report)
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
