JPMC, British firm hold talks over seawater desalination project

AMMAN — The Jordan Phosphate Mines Company (JPMC) and the British Solar Water Plc. on Wednesday discussed the necessary measures to implement a seawater desalination project to supply the JPMC-affiliated Aqaba Industrial Complex with its need for industrial water for production purposes.

In the meeting, JPMC Chairman Mohammad Thneibat, CEO of the British company David Reavley and CEO of the Government Investment Management Company Khairy Amro discussed the project’s details, which will supply the complex with about four million cubic metres of industrial water annually.

Thneibat stressed the importance of this "vital" project for the JPMC and the complex to reduce the complex’s production costs and provide job opportunities for the region's people. The British company will train employees on operation and maintenance work, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The project's total cost, which will rely on solar energy, stands at $100 million and will be implemented on the build-operate-transfer (BOT) principle for a 25-year term.

The chairman noted that the project will use a totally new technology to produce industrial water, adding that the secondary salts from the water will be marketed abroad.

The project's civil works will start at the end of 2021, while its "actual" production is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2023, Thneibat pointed out.