Jiza to house Jordan’s first residential eco-village

DEAD SEA — More than 100 green housing units will be built in Jiza to constitute Jordan’s first residential eco-village, officials said on Monday.

The green housing will be built under an agreement signed by the Jordan Green Building Council (JGBC) and the Housing Cooperative of the Vocational Training Centre’s Employees on Monday on the sidelines of the Eco-Cities of the Mediterranean 2014 Forum. 

JGBC Chairman, Abdullah Bdeir, said the project will pave the way for Jordan’s first green infrastructure, with the construction of 110 housing units as optimised models on a 150,000-square-metre plot of land in Zeinab Village in Jiza, in south Amman.

“Green building doesn’t only resemble an individual facility, but covers the whole neighbourhood, including its infrastructure,” Bdeir added at the signing ceremony. 

He noted that housing unit density reduces the environmental impact of horizontal urban expansion and allows for an effective public transport system and basic services, such as schools, banks and clinics that are built near residents, thus reducing their need to travel.  

Under the project, solar and wind power will be utilised in electricity generation for cooling and heating purposes. In addition, recycled grey water will be used for irrigation.

Bdeir highlighted that JGBC will build the capacity of engineers involved in the construction and planning of the project, and work on the “green master plan” is currently under way.

A technical team of experts from the private and public sector will supervise the construction of the project, according to a JGBC statement.

Murad Kurdi, president of the Housing Cooperative, said the eco-village, which seeks to reduce energy consumption, will set an example of integrated green building.

“There are 10-15 housing cooperatives that plan to establish residential compounds for their members. We hope that this pilot project will become a model replicated by others,” Kurdi said.