National Water Carrier Project to deliver desalinated water by 2027 — Najjar

AMMAN — The National Water Carrier Project, which will provide about 300 million cubic metres of desalinated water annually, will be ready by 2027, Minister of Water and Irrigation Mohammed Najjar said on Monday. 

The Aqaba-Amman desalination and water transport project is a strategic project and a top priority for the Kingdom’s water security, Najjar said, noting that five consortiums have been prequalified and received the project’s technical documents, as well as were given six months to submit their financial and technical offers. 

Signing the contract with the bidder with the best offer is expected to take place before the end of 2022, he said, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra. 

He added that the cost of the project, including pipelines, the construction of pumping stations and tanks and a desalination plant in the Gulf of Aqaba, is estimated at $2.5 billion, but the minister stressed that is not a final estimate. 

The purpose of this project is to provide safe and reliable fresh water supplies to Amman and other governorates along the route of the carrier line.

The project won the “Best Strategic Project 2019” award after competing with over 100 global projects at the Infrastructure Leadership Forum in Malaga, Spain.