by Hana Namrouqa | Mar 30, 2013

AMMAN — The implementation of a JD5.5-million project to construct and rehabilitate water infrastructure in the southern Karak Governorate is under way, a government official said on Saturday.

The project entails installing new water networks and rehabilitating deteriorated ones to improve water management and supply in Karak, the Water Ministry’s secretary general and acting secretary general of the Water Authority of Jordan, Basem Tulfah, told The Jordan Times in a phone interview.

“The ministry has awarded a tender for installing and refurbishing the water infrastructure in Al Qaser, Arrabeh and Shihan towns in Karak,” Tulfah underscored.

The project, which was first announced in 2010, aims at addressing water loss in Karak, where over half the water is lost due to poor infrastructure. Reservoirs, pumping stations and water networks in the southern region will be revamped and constructed, according to the ministry.

The project is part of a national agenda designed to rehabilitate water networks across Jordan and upgrade infrastructure in the south, according to Tulfah, who noted that the project is jointly funded by the government and the German Development Bank, which is contributing 80 per cent of the costs.

“The project is expected to be completed within one year,” Tulfah noted.

Water per capita in Karak Governorate stands at 165 litres per day, according to the ministry’s spokesperson, Omar Salameh, who said the amount is above the country’s average.

Salameh said over the phone that the problem with the water supply in Karak is the deteriorated water networks, conveyance pipes and pumping stations, which lead to the loss of 60 per cent of the supplied water in leakage.

He added that two water projects are currently under construction in Karak Governorate at a total cost of JD9 million, in addition to a JD10 million venture to improve the water supply in the southern governorate.

Karak, located 140 kilometres to the south of Amman, has a population of 170,000 people, according to the Department of Statistics. The governorate is home to several of the country’s main wells, streams and dams.

http://jordantimes.com/jd55-million-project-to-rehabilitate-karaks-water-network