171117_SECAP of Greater Irbid Municipality_SET_rev2

once the pavement is severely damaged. Even though Jordan may see less than 300mm of rain per year, the absence of
drainage systems and routine maintenance causes roads to rapidly deteriorate.
Wastewater system
The existing sewer system in Irbid consists of three short lengths of 50 cm (20 in.) pipes having a total length of about 600
Km. Wastewater from these sewers is discharged untreated into a storm water box culvert located in the Wadi Tariq Saum.
All other domestic and commercial sewage is collected and disposed of in cesspools or septic tanks. Collected septic tank
solids are trucked to Wadi el Hamam and discharged untreated.
Several low- and medium-technology alternatives were formulated and analysed regarding appropriate methods of
treatment and disposal of wastewater from Irbid, including direct land application of wastewater, waste stabilization ponds
and biological treatment systems.
Storm water drainage system
Two major drainage basins receive storm water runoff from Irbid, namely Wadi Tariq Saum and Wadi el Hamam. Both of
these basins contain existing storm water drainage facilities that are hydraulically constrained due to the location of inlets,
have sediment accumulation and structural damage, carry sanitary wastewater flows and have flooding problems due to
inadequate design capacity.
Solid waste disposal system
The Municipality of Irbid presently provides solid waste collection and disposal service to its residents. Currently, waste
material is placed in plastic or burlap bags, and stored in vacant lots until it is picked up by a collection truck. Pick-up
schedules are irregular.
Studies show that solid waste is presently generated at the rate of about 0.55 kg per capita per day (1.2 lbs/capita/day)
which is less than one-half of the European or United States generation rates. Several solid waste disposal alternatives
were studied, including energy recovery, landfilling, and composting. Landfilling was selected mostly on the basis of
economic cost-effectiveness.
Electricity
Irbid District Electric Co. Ltd. engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electric power in Jordan. Its service
area includes the municipalities of Irbid, Mafraq, Jerash, and Ajloun, as well as parts of the Balqa Municipality.
In addition to the power stations operated by the public utilities, there are also a number of industrial enterprises that
generate electricity in their own plants. Some of these also feed excess electricity into the Jordanian interconnected grid.
Since the amount of electricity generated in Jordan has for some years been insufficient to cover the country’s needs,
additional power used to be imported from Egypt and Syria. However, due to the circumstances in the region, import has
either been stalled completely (Syria, since 2012) or reduced (Egypt).
Jordan updated its Master Strategy for Energy for the period of 2007 to 2020, which had initially been drafted in 2004. The
strategy aims at reducing energy imports through diversification of the energy mix by using local resources such as shale
oil, nuclear power and renewable energies.
Street Lighting
The Greater Irbid Municipality will launch a tender for the upgrade of its street lighting system (“LED Investment”) and the
construction and operation of a solar power plant to produce electricity for its own needs under a long-term concession
type of arrangement (“PV Investment”), collectively, the “Project”.
The Municipality is also interested in assessing and evaluating options to generate renewable energy as a means to reduce
the cost of electricity which it currently pays. It is expected that this will be achieved through the construction and operation
of a 16MW photovoltaic plant (the “PV Plant”) which will generate electricity exclusively for the City’s own needs, including,
but not limited to, the street lighting needs of Irbid.
Education
There are around 70,000 registered students in Irbid's 10 universities, community colleges and institutes, of whom 8,000
were international students from 47 countries. This concentration of higher education institutions has played a key role in
carving a unique identity of the city.
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