Japan provides Jordan with $21.6m grant for water sector

AMMAN — Japan will provide an additional grant of $21,616,344 to Jordan under an agreement signed by the Planning and International Cooperation Ministry and the Japanese government on Monday.  

The grant from the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will be administered by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) to support the second phase of an “urgent programme” to improve the efficiency of the water sector in the northern governorates hosting Syrian refugees, benefiting 20,000 citizens in the targeted areas, a statement by the Planning Ministry announced.

Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury, Ambassador of Japan to Jordan Shuichi Sakurai, Director and Representative of the UNOPS Operational Hub in Amman Bana Kaloti and Chief Representative of the JICA Office in Amman Tsutoma Kobayashi signed the grant agreement.

Fakhoury said that the grant is a response from the Japanese government to the request made to support Jordan in alleviating the burdens of hosting 1.3 million Syrian refugees as part of the Jordanian Response Plan to the Syrian crisis. 

The minister said that the grant aims to improve the quantity, quality and efficiency of drinking water, noting that it is following the first phase, which was implemented with the support of the Japanese government through a 2014 grant worth $22.4 million that was officially received on May 11, 2017, according to the statement..

Fakhoury expressed appreciation for Japan's support and praised the deep-rooted relations and cooperation in various fields, noting that Jordan has received about $1.29 billion in support from Japan, $505.72 million of which was in grants and the rest in soft loans, in addition to technical assistance provided to Jordan through the JICA.

For his part, Ambassador Sakurai said: “I strongly hope that the new grant, in conjunction with the previous one, will improve water supply services for people in the region, thereby contributing to increased access to clean water and the promotion of peace and social stability in Jordan.”