Ammon News - Minister of Water and Irrigation, Mohammad Najjar, signed an agreement for the 4th phase water loss reduction project, with Acting Director of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Margaret Spears.

The value of funding in this stage reaches $250 million, and an additional contribution from the ministry of about $75 million to implement the project within 6 years coming.

Secretary-General of the Ministry of Water and Irrigation Jihad Mahamid, Eng. Manar Mahasneh, Secretary General of the Jordan Valley Authority, Acting Secretary General of the Water Authority, Eng. Rami Abu Rawaq, and the executive directors of the water companies, Miyahuna, Aqaba and Yarmouk, attended the signing.

Najjar stated that the project aims to reduce water loss, whose causes exceed such as wear and tear of water networks and infrastructure and illegal uses and attacks on water sources, which will work directly to support the national strategy to reduce water loss in the Kingdom to less than 25% by the year 2040, which was recently approved.

He added that in light of the increasing demand and scarcity of water resources, the project will enhance the efficiency of the water sector to improve the operational capacity of water production, transmission and distribution systems, raise the level of service to citizens, increase the average daily per capita share of water.

He expressed the gratitude of the Jordanian government, represented by the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, for the great and continuous support provided by the government and people of the US, because of its great impact in strengthening efforts to confront the water challenges that Jordan suffers from in the water sector.

For her part, Mrs. Spears said: "This phase of the USAID project to reduce the loss is in line with Jordan's national water strategy for the coming years, and is added to the three phases that preceded it, bringing the total financing value in the four phases to $689.1 million, as well as the new agreement is also in line with the memorandum of understanding that was signed between Jordan and the US and to work to address the water challenges that the sector suffer from."

"The project will focus on achieving the desired goals through the rehabilitation and improvement of infrastructure, the development of monitoring and control systems for companies, the demonstration of modern technological developments, and capacity building through training and technical assistance for workers in the sector, all to ensure the continued availability of water for the Jordanian people and to enhance water security for future generations", she added.