Ministry of Water: The cost per cubic meter of water from the National Conveyance Project will range between 1.80 and 2.20 dinars.
Abu Saud: Pumping will not run for a full week and may be limited to 3 days.
اضافة اعلان
Water Minister: The Water Authority faces a debt close to 5 billion dinars.
Ministry of Water: Prices for private water tankers could reach up to 30 dinars during peak crises.
Abu Saud: Jordan will require a new water project within 10 years.
Water Minister: Failure to implement the National Conveyance Project threatens to exacerbate the water crisis.
The Minister of Water and Irrigation, Raed Abu Saud, warned of a deepening water crisis in Jordan in the coming years if the National Conveyance Project is not implemented. He emphasized that the project represents a strategic necessity to ensure water security, but noted that it does not constitute a final solution to the crisis. The project will fulfill only about 40 percent of the Kingdom's water needs for an estimated span of roughly ten years, which demands early planning for additional projects to guarantee sustainable water supplies.
Speaking during a meeting with the Parliamentary Water Committee on Wednesday, the Minister explained that citizens across various governorates already face significant pressures during the summer season due to supply shortages. This pushes many to purchase water from private tankers. He pointed out that the price per cubic meter of water in some areas starts at approximately 5 dinars and can surge during peak times and crises to 20 or 30 dinars, depending on the severity of the outage and the volume of demand.
He noted that "without the National Conveyance Project, a water tanker could become a luxury that Jordanians can no longer afford."
He added that Jordan could face an even harsher reality in the coming years if the National Conveyance Project is not executed. He cautioned that citizens might find themselves unable to bear the cost of securing water, whether through the main networks or private tankers, particularly given the limited water resources and declining rainfall. However, he noted that the recent rainy season helped alleviate some pressure on the water crisis.
The Minister revealed that the cost per cubic meter of water generated by the National Conveyance Project will range between 1.80 and 2.20 dinars. He explained that this cost reflects the nature of financing and operations, adding that part of the financial crisis in the water sector stems from selling water below its actual cost, which has led to accumulated debt within the sector.
He confirmed that the Water Authority faces a debt approaching 5 billion dinars, pointing out that maintaining the status quo without strategic solutions will increase the financial burden and aggravate the supply crisis in the future.
The Minister explained that the National Conveyance Project falls under Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) partnerships, noting that Jordan does not possess sufficient capital to execute it independently, given that the public debt has reached approximately 42 billion dinars. This necessitated resorting to specialized investors and companies that bear part of the implementation and operational costs in exchange for specific investment returns.
He indicated that the government capped the investor's profit margin at 14 percent, which is lower than global rates that typically range between 15 and 21 percent for similar projects. He denied that profits are calculated based on the total value of the project, explaining that returns are calculated solely on the investor's equity stake, and not on the contributions made by the government, banks, or national financing institutions.
He further elaborated that the investor has enlisted a consortium of internationally ranked global corporations specializing in water, design, piping, and execution—including French, Egyptian, and Greek companies—to ensure the project is implemented according to the highest technical and operational standards over a 25-year period.
The Minister stressed that despite the project’s cost approaching nearly 4 billion dinars, it will not mean providing citizens with water daily or throughout the entire week. He clarified that the pumping system will remain subject to water distribution schedules and may only reach three days a week in certain areas rather than a full week. This reflects the persistent challenges of high demand and scarce resources, reaffirming that within approximately ten years, Jordan will need to look toward a new water project or supplementary solutions to avert a more complex crisis in the future.
