By JT – May 05,2017 –
AMMAN — Water Minister Hazem Nasser on Thursday inaugurated the second phase of a project to renovate water networks in Ruseifa, 12km east of Amman, in Zarqa Governorate.
Conducted in cooperation with the Chinese government, the project aims to instal carriers to enhance water provision to Ruseifa at a cost of JD1.8 million, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
During the project’s inauguration, attended by the Chinese Ambassador to Jordan Pan Weifang, Nasser said the project aims to improve the Kingdom’s water and sanitation sectors, in response to the exceptional circumstances resulting from hosting more than 1.5 million refugees within residential areas.
Jordan is one of the poorest countries in terms of water, with the per capita availability of water being 88 per cent below the international water poverty line of 1,000 cubic metres annually, according to official figures.
Nasser said the project includes installing main carriers of 500-millimetre diameter and 3.5-kilometre of length from Um Al Basatin pump station to the Qadisieh reservoir, to allow water pumping to areas in Ruseifa.
The city’s networks have been renovated in the first phase of the JD7.7-million scheme to serve 70,000 citizens.
The minister added that the new carriers and reservoirs will enhance available water quantities, achieve flexible water provision, contribute to regular distribution and alleviate pressure on networks, so as to present good services and address any shortcomings in the water sector.
He expressed appreciation for the Chinese support, stressing that such a project would not have succeeded without the international assistance to Jordan.
The biggest concern to the Kingdom is to find quick solutions to emergency circumstances witnessed as a result of increasing demand for water, Nasser highlighted.
The Chinese ambassador expressed his country’s keenness to cooperate with and help the Kingdom face the exceptional circumstances resulting from hosting large numbers of refugees.
He also called on the international community to help Jordan meet the increasing pressures, especially in the water and sanitation sectors, noting that the Kingdom has become “a model in administering its scarce water resources with high levels of efficiency”.
http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/second-phase-ruseifa-water-networks%E2%80%99-renovation-project-launched