‘Zarqa water network renovation begins’

AMMAN — Implementation of a project to renovate deteriorated water networks in densely populated areas in Zarqa Governorate began on Monday, government officials announced.

Under the project, old and deteriorated water networks in Al Falah neighbourhood and Al Zawahrah area, where over 30,000 people live, will be renovated, the officials at the Ministry of Water and Irrigation said.

The project was launched after Minister of Water and Irrigation, Hazem El Nasser, signed the project’s agreement with the implementing local contractor, according to a ministry’s statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times.

In the statement, El Nasser said that the project seeks to address water disruptions resulting from worn out water networks, highlighting that the project will improve water supply in targeted areas by replacing main and tertiary pipes.

“The ministry, through the Water Authority of Jordan, is saving no effort to overcome the impact of the growing population on the water sector, which is suffering from an increasing demand for water,” El Nasser highlighted.

Ministry’s spokesperson Omar Salameh told The Jordan Times that the project, which costs JD281,000, is funded by the Saudi government via the Gulf grant.

In 2011, the Gulf Cooperation Council allocated $5 billion to finance development projects in Jordan over the 2012-2016 period. The grant is divided between Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, with each country paying $1.25 billion.

Some $425.4 million have been allocated for water and sanitation projects.

“The project is scheduled to be completed within six months,” Salameh highlighted.

Located 22km northeast of Amman, Zarqa counts 150,000 water subscribers who are serviced by the Jordan Water Company (Miyahuna), which also provides wastewater services to 70 per cent of the governorate’s population.

Water loss during the second-half of 2016 in Zarqa amounted to 53.6 per cent, a 61.5 per cent decrease from the first-half of the year, according to official figures.

The current distribution programme provides water supply in the governorate for 36 hours per week, with households receiving water once during a certain period, usually every 7 to 10 days, on a rotating basis.

Scarce water resources in the country have compelled the Kingdom to initiate the programme in the early 1980s to conserve its limited resources while ensuring a sustainable supply of water.