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Ammon News - Minister of Water and Irrigation Mohamed Najjar and Mission Director at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Sherry Carlin signed an agreement on Tuesday that will see a $152 million grant that the agency had previously pledged to Jordan to address water loss increased to $227 million.

According to a press release, the total value of three grants from the US Agency to address water loss in the Kingdom is now $437 million. The funds will be used to improve the performance and efficiency of water resource use, as well as to improve the infrastructure of water networks by increasing the capacity of the water supply system, with the goal of eventually reducing water losses by 2 percent per year.

Minister Najjar indicated that this agreement is in line with a national strategy to reduce water losses in the Kingdom to less than 25 percent, with the US Agency's support.

He said the grant will cover all governorates, while $75 million of the additional funding will be leveraged to upgrade infrastructures and rehabilitate Jordan's three water companies and the Jordan Valley Authority.

Najjar expressed gratitude to USAID for its ongoing assistance in bolstering the water ministry's efforts to tackle water challenges in the Kingdom.

Increasing the assistance provided is a great investment that fits within the Agency's commitment to empowering the water sector, according to Veronica Lee, Deputy Director of the Water Resources and Environment Office at USAID, who expressed her deep appreciation for the efforts made to advance the water sector.