Germany to finance water, sewage projects in Zarqa, Amman

AMMAN — The German Development Bank (KfW) has approved funding for water and wastewater projects in Zarqa and Amman worth 80 million euros, a government official said on Wednesday.

The new funds aim at supporting the Kingdom and alleviating the burden of hosting hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees in different parts of the country, the official told The Jordan Times on condition of anonymity.

“The German government approved funding for projects worth 80 million euros to improve water and wastewater services in Zarqa and the capital. The funds are additional support for the country’s water sector,” the official said.

The KfW will partly fund a project for the management and safe disposal of sludge generated from Al Samra Wastewater Treatment Plant, which treats 75 per cent of the country’s sewage, he added.

The project seeks to improve environmental conditions in Al Samra plant area, protect water aquifers from contamination and turn materials generated from the wastewater treatment process into fertilisers or bio-fuel for industrial purposes, according to the official.

The German government will finance the construction of a 20-kilometre-long wastewater pipeline to transport sewage from Zarqa Governorate and parts of Amman to Al Samra Wastewater Treatment Plant.

The 45-million euro pipeline will be established next to an existing conveyor that was built 30 years ago, the official said, adding that the ministry seeks to replace the old pipe which is worn out and frequently leaks.

The current pipeline conveys 80,000 cubic metres of wastewater daily from sewage networks in Zarqa and the Ruseifa District, as well as north and east Amman, according to the ministry.

In addition, the German bank will extend 13 million euros for establishing new sewage networks, a wastewater pumping station and a sewage pipe in Zarqa’s heavily populated Al Sukhneh and Al Hashimiyeh districts.

Meanwhile, 22 million euros will be allocated for transferring a wastewater treatment plant from Abu Nuseir in Amman to the West Zarqa Wastewater Pumping Station, according to the ministry, which said that implementation o the project will commence in May next year.