Construction begins in west Amman wastewater project

AMMAN — Construction on the first and second phases of a JD76-million project to upgrade wastewater services in Naour District and adjacent towns began on Wednesday, according to government officials.

Under the project’s first two phases, over 10,000 people will be linked to the wastewater network, thus ending reliance on cesspits which often overflow, causing health and environmental dangers, the officials said.

Minister of Water and Irrigation Hazem El Nasser said in a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times that the project is funded by a loan from the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank) and a grant from the US government.

“This vital project seeks to end the suffering of the residents of Naour and adjacent towns by linking their households to the sewage network…,” El Nasser said in the statement.

The project will improve services and infrastructure in several parts of western Amman, protecting surface and ground water from pollution which may be caused by overflowing cesspits and encouraging the cultivation of fodder crops, El Nasser highlighted.

Wastewater carriers and household sewage pipelines will be installed under the project, which will also entail the expansion and renovation of Wadi Al Sir’s wastewater treatment plant.

Ministry’s Spokesperson Omar Salameh said that the existing Naour wastewater treatment plant will be dismantled, while Wadi Al Sir wastewater treatment plant will be rehabilitated to receive and treat additional amounts of wastewater at a cost of $48.5 million in loan from the Korea Eximbank.

The plant in Wadi Al Sir will be renovated to treat 17,000 cubic metres of wastewater per day, Salameh said, noting that the entire plan will receive and treat wastewater from all households, which will be linked to the sewage network under the ongoing project.

“The project’s first and second phases are expected to be completed in around 48 months,” Salameh told The Jordan Times.

He underlined that the project is one of the many ventures listed in the ministry’s $930 million strategy to increase the households’ connectivity to the wastewater network in Amman and Zarqa, raising the connectivity from the current 80 per cent to 90 per cent by the year 2025.

The strategy entails the implementation of 21 projects, including the construction of new wastewater treatment plants, the expansion and refurbishment of existing plants, and the installation of new sewage networks.

With these projects, the Kingdom will increase the amount of treated wastewater from the present 115 million cubic metres per year, to 250 million cubic metres by 2025, according to the ministry.

The treated wastewater will increasingly substitute the use of fresh water for industrial purposes, as well as the irrigation of certain cultivations in the Jordan Valley and south of Amman.