‘No plans’ to raise water prices despite supply challenges — minister

AMMAN — Water Minister Raed Abul Saud said on Thursday that there are “no plans” to increase water prices throughout 2020 and 2021, as the ministry has various programmes in place to face supply challenges. 

The minister delivered his remarks during an interview on Jordan TV’s "This Evening" programme, in an episode titled "Water and the National Security Strategy", according to a ministry statement sent to The Jordan Times on Saturday.

Abul Saud said in the statement that Jordan faces a difficult water situation that is “becoming more difficult each year”, adding that a rise in the population, refugee influxes, climate change and other factors have caused a decrease in water resources in the Kingdom, highlighting the high cost of desalinating seawater, especially as the sea is far from most cities. 

However, "the Water Ministry has dealt with the situation effectively" through various projects like the Disi Water Conveyance Project, Abul Saud said, noting that under Royal directives, the ministry has also worked to implement the Red Sea Desalination project. 

The minister also highlighted the way dams are built in the Kingdom, stating that "accurate and technical studies" are conducted on the places where overflowing occurs in valleys, in order to collect water there. He added that 85 per cent of rain and torrent water in the Kingdom is collected, reaching a capacity of 336.4 million cubic metres in the main dams. 

He also pointed to the Red-Dead Water Conveyance Project, a regional project being carried out under the umbrella of the World Bank.