2005 - 2006 - Pinsent Masons Water Yearbook 2012

JORDAN PART 2: COUNTRY ANALYSIS
Jordan
Water Resources
In the Amman-Zarqa area where some 60% of the national population lives, the daily availability of
drinking water is the lowest for an urbanised area in the world. In Jordan, water supplied for domestic
usage is about 115L a day. This figure does not take into account distribution losses and other
municipal uses. In consequence, the actual daily delivery of water is 85L a day. Municipal water
demand has surpassed the available supply since the mid-1980s and summer rationing was
introduced systematically in most provinces since 1988. In Amman, running water is only available for
a few hours of the week. In Amman during the 1998 drought, municipally supplied water was only
available for two days a week. Water from the Bassel Dam in Southern Syria has started to flow to
Jordan. This is the result of an accord with Syria to pump 3.5 million m 3 of drinking water to Amman
in August 2000.
Water provision and use in Jordan (1992)
Domestic use (L/day) 115
Agriculture 74%
Industry 5%
Domestic 21%
Total (million m 3 ) 875
Sewerage systems and treatment plants have been built or are under construction in most towns, but
sewage treatment remains at an early stage of development, with less than 20% of effluents subject
to treatment.
Water Management
Jordan’s revised 2002-2011 €2.29 billion water sector policy plan’s 53 projects include 10 projects
worth €998 million earmarked for PPP. The original 1997-2011 plan was to cover 61 facilities at a
total cost of US$5 billion. Capital spending in 1997/98 was running at US$98 million per annum. In
the longer term, the building of the Red-Dead Canal, aimed at channeling water from the Red Sea to
the Dead Sea, using a desalination facility remains under consideration, despite its estimated cost of
US$3 billion.
In September 2002, a US$800 million plan for piping water to the Dead Sea was unveiled. The 186
mile pipeline is designed to prevent the continuing shrinkage of the sea, which has caused problems
for both Jordan and Israel. The World Bank is assisting Jordan with a plan that aims to pump 2 billion
m 3 of water per annum from the Red Sea to raise the level of the Dead Sea back to its historic levels
of about 395 meters below sea level as opposed to its present level of 410 meters. Without this, the
Dead Sea is expected to dry up by 2050
Privatisation of Amman’s water and sewerage management
Jordan has adopted a draft law on privatisation that came into effect at the end of 1999. Although
initiated in the mid-1980s, privatisation has only now been taken seriously because it is a prerequisite
to Jordan's entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The draft law is said to include
safeguards for employee rights and a clause giving the government the right to maintain a golden
share in any privatised institution.
The Greater Amman water management project was awarded to Suez in 1999 (Ondeo 75% and
Montgomery Watson-Arabtech Jardaneh, 25%) and has been supported by a US$55 million World
Bank loan in March 1999. The overall project cost is US$136 million, the Government of Jordan
contributing US$17 million, the European Investment Bank US$44 million, and Italy US$20 million.
The 51 month contract aims to improve the efficiency, management, operation, and delivery of water
and wastewater services for the Amman Service Area, covering about 1.6 million people. The
Greater Amman area accounts for 45% of the country's total drinking water consumption. The project
seeks to improve the efficiency of the water distribution system through leakage management,
network rehabilitation, and a program of meter repair and replacement, reducing unaccounted for
water by at least 25% as well as increasing sales revenues. Water and sewerage facilities are to be
upgraded and the sewerage network extended. The contract has enjoyed limited success, due to
institutional consrvatism.
126 Pinsent Masons Water Yearbook 2005 – 2006