AMMAN — The
Ministry of Social Development has
provided municipal development projects with $38.8 million in funds in the
current phase of its Municipal Services and Social Adjustment Project,
according to Al-Ghad.
اضافة اعلان
During a field visit on Sunday to projects implemented
in Mafraq, the projects manager Tawfiq Al-Khawattrah said that the municipal
services project covered 28 municipalities across the Kingdom, including those affected
by the
Syria refugee crises. He added
that the cumulative funding since the launch of the project under the
supervision of the World Bank in 2013, exceeded $90 million.
Chairman of the Zaatari
Municipal Committee Mohammed Al-Dalabih said that 11 projects were implemented
under the current phase of the project amounting to JD2 million to alleviate
pressures on municipal services caused by Syrian refugees.
He noted that the projects
included the implementation of asphalt mixes, construction of roads at a value
of JD1 million, purchase of machinery worth JD340,000, and establishing two
stadiums at a cost of JD310,000. The
remainder of the funds were spent on other projects, he said.
Fifty percent of the
population of the municipality of Zaatari are Syrian refugees, which creates
more pressure on all public facilities and infrastructures, according to
Dalabih.
Chairman of the Greater Mafraq
Municipality Committee Hani Al-Shuraa stressed that the city’s public
facilities face huge pressures as a result of the big influx of Syrian Refugees
in Mafraq, noting that the funding provided by the Municipal Services Project
has contributed to easing this pressure.
However, he said additional support would be required for the
developmental projects.
World Bank Resident
Representative
Holly Benner said that the bank had among its priorities the
Zaatari municipality as it has been most affected by the Syria refugee crises,
and lately by the economic repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Benner added that the bank’s
innovative grant was urgently needed as it would lead to reflecting on new
solutions to strengthen the role of municipalities in local development, and
help in job creation as well as the promotion of municipal
community-participatory work.
The Municipal Services and
Social Adjustment Project is supervised by the World Bank and funded by several
governments including the Canadian, Jordanian, British, and Dutch governments,
as well as
USAID.
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