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Ammon News - The Ministry of Water and Irrigation signed Wednesday a $9.13 million agreement with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) to rehabilitate water networks in Jerash.

Minister Mohammed Najjar and the Country Director of KOICA Jordan Seo Dong Sung signed off on the project, which will rehabilitate the water networks and improve the quality of supplied water in the Mastaba area of Jerash, which suffers from a worn-out water network and increased demand after hosting large numbers of refugees.

The minister reviewed various increasingly difficult challenges facing Jordan, a water-poor country, due to the Covid pandemic and the Syrian refugee crisis. Jordan, he noted, is doing its utmost to secure more water sources and reduce losses by improving the water network supply.

Najjar pointed to the energy and water issues, one of Jordan's biggest challenge, and the adoption of integrated programs for energy efficiency, lauding South Korea's ongoing support to implement water projects to reduce water loss, improve supply and monitor consumption through SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) systems.

Secretary-General of the Jordan Water Authority Bashar Bataineh said that studies will be conducted under the project to re-design and rehabilitate network lines and SCADA systems.

For his part, Dong Sung voiced South Korea's appreciation of Jordan's humanitarian role, under the leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah II, and Jordanian government procedures that benefit refugees, especially in the water sector.

He also stressed further cooperation between South Korea and Jordan to find solutions to the current water shortage issue, adding that the water sector in Jordan is part of KOICA's priorities.

KOICA, which funded different water projects, has contributed $3.5 million during the years 2008-2011 improve networks and supply systems in Amman, Salt, Zarqa, and Mafraq by creating a telemetering system , which monitors water quality.