AMMAN — Construction commenced on Saturday on two main water conveyors for Ajloun and Jerash governorates to address water shortages due to the growing population in the northern region, officials said on Saturday.
The Ministry of Water and Irrigation signed agreements worth JD25 million for the establishment of water mains and pipes in the two governorates by the year 2016, according to the officials.
“The two conveyors will be among the Kingdom’s main water projects. They aim at delivering water from the Disi Water Conveyance Project to the northern governorates, which suffer from an acute water shortage due to limited resources and the rising population,” Water Minister Hazem Nasser said in a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times.
The Ajloun project entails the construction of a 31-kilometre pipeline from Hofa Reservoir in Irbid Governorate to Ajloun, some 70km northwest of Amman, to transfer 10 million cubic metres of water annually, in addition to the rehabilitation of the reservoir water pumping stations in the governorate, Nasser added.
In Jerash Governorate, a 34-kilometre pipeline will be built to transfer water from a pumping station in Mafraq to Hofa Reservoir in Irbid and eventually to Jerash Reservoir to channel some 13 million cubic metres of water from the Disi project, according to the minister.
He underscored that the project also entails the renovation of reservoirs, pumping stations and water networks in certain areas in Jerash, around 48km north of the capital.
Water Ministry Spokesperson Omar Salameh told The Jordan Times that the two projects in Jerash and Ajloun seek to provide additional amounts of water to address an increasing gap between supply and demand due to the continuous influx of Syrian refugees.
The northern region suffers from water shortages caused by limited resources, violations to main water lines and deteriorating networks, while the situation has worsened with the influx of Syrians, according to ministry officials.
The total number of Syrians living in Jordan is estimated at over 1.3 million, over half-a-million of whom are refugees who arrived in the Kingdom following the onset of the conflict in their country in March 2011, according to official figures.
More than 70 per cent of the Syrian refugees in Jordan live amongst host communities, while the rest are accommodated at the Zaatari Refugee Camp in Mafraq Governorate and the Mreijeb Al Fhoud Camp in Zarqa Governorate.
