AIN GHAZAL WASTEWATER PROJECT (JORDAN)

The project will assist greatly in protecting the environment and increasing the amount of reclaimed water available for irrigation in the Jordan Valley.

Dr. Hazim El-Naser-Minister of Water and Irrigation Jordan

Implementation Support Agency: EBRD

Loan Amount: $47.2 million

GCFF Concessionality Amount: $2 million

This project – also approved at the inaugural GCFF Steering Committee meeting– aims to improve the operational capacity of the wastewater system serving 1.8 million inhabitants of the Greater Amman and Zarqa areas. The $48 million project is funding construction of a new 30.4 km wastewater pipeline to link the severely overstrained Ain Ghazal pre-treatment plant on the outskirts of Amman with the As-Samra wastewater treatment plant, Jordan’s largest such facility. The need for this project – implemented with support from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) – stems from unprecedented population growth in the affected area driven primarily by the rapid influx of Syrian refugees.

The new pipeline will transport mechanically pre-treated wastewater from Ain Ghazal to As-Samra to undergo further biological treatment. The new link should reduce untreated sewage overflows and prevent potentially serious pollution to the environment threatened by erosion of the existing pipeline. The Project is expected to last four years and will create jobs throughout the construction phase. EBRD’s investment of $24 million is being complemented by $17 million from the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), $5 million from the EBRD Shareholder Special Fund, and $2 million from the GCFF.

The initiative, officially called the Ain Ghazal Wastewater Conveyer Project, is part of a wider engagement by EBRD with the Water Authority of Jordan aimed at upgrading the country’s wastewater system to cope with increasing wastewater flows and overstretched municipal infrastructure caused by the Syrian refugee influx. A further planned loan of up $17 million would finance the expansion and refurbishment of the existing Ain Ghazal plant.

As part of its efforts to improve the long-term sustainability of water and wastewater services in Jordan and to provide better service to users, EBRD will seek the introduction of contracts with the private sector for operations and maintenance. EBRD will also seek to engage the private sector to decrease the portion of “non-revenue” water and wastewater and increase cost-recovery for services, thereby promoting the financial sustainability
of operations.