Cabinet approves JD75m plan to revamp Wadi Zarqa

AMMAN — The Council of Ministers on Sunday approved a plan to rehabilitate Wadi Zarqa, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The project, with an investment value amounting to JD75 million, will contribute to developing the Zarqa River area, which begins in Ain Ghazal in Amman, passes through Ruseifa, Zarqa, Hashemiyeh and Jerash, to finally reach King Talal Dam. 

The project, which covers a 107-square-kilometres area, aims at resolving environment problems in Wadi Zarqa by implementing a comprehensive development strategy to preserve natural environment, and increase interest in agricultural projects in and around it. 

The Cabinet tasked Water Minister Hazem Nasser and Public Works Minister Sami Halaseh with forming a committee, headed by the Public Works Ministry, to review the tenders. 

The committee will be formed for the purpose of direct purchases and negotiating for final prices as well as adopting agreements to be signed. 

Nasser said the Cabinet recently tasked his ministry with preparing a comprehensive blueprint for the rehabilitation of the Zarqa River to make it a location for people to visit instead of being an environmental burden. 

Petra quoted him as saying that the Council of Ministers on Sunday decided to approve the study presented by his ministry and the Public Works Ministry to rehabilitate Wadi Zarqa over a five-year period, with the government spending JD15 million each year. 

The second largest tributary of the lower Jordan River after the Yarmouk River, the Zarqa River’s watershed encompasses the most densely populated areas in the country, including Zarqa Governorate, which is home to 52 per cent of Jordan’s industries and has a population of around 1.4 million.