Mujib water project receives international award

AMMAN — The Mujib water conveyance project has won an international award at the Global Water Summit being held in Abu Dhabi, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, on Wednesday quoted Water Minister Hazem Nasser as saying.

In a speech delivered at the summit, which concluded on Wednesday, Nasser said that despite the huge challenges, Jordan has managed to provide water to citizens and refugees, who constitute some 20 per cent of the total population, by finding "creative solutions" to the rising demand.

The project's win is a clear indication of Jordan's success in providing water, after a competition with more than 500 international projects, he said, noting the scheme was implemented by Jordanians "in a record time", Petra reported.

Water per capita in the Kingdom is 88 per cent below the international water poverty line of 1,000 cubic metres annually, according to the Ministry of Water and Irrigation.

The available water resources in Jordan offer 800-900 million cubic metres (mcm) of water annually, according to the ministry, which says that this amount caters to the needs of only 3 million people.

The Kingdom over the past few years has been suffering from the repercussions of political crises in the region, having to host large numbers of refugees, the minister said, noting that climate change has also resulted in reducing rainfall and bringing heavy rainfall at unusual timings.

Nasser said stakeholders in the sector reviewed all possible solutions to address water scarcity, deciding to adopt modern and advanced approaches which have proved their efficiency in providing additional amounts of water from available resources, Petra added.

During last year, national water demand stood at 1.205 billion cubic metres, while supply stood at 972mcm, according to figures from the Water Ministry, which also showed that the water deficit last year was 233mcm.

Jordan is expected to witness a 15-60 per cent decrease in precipitation and a 1-4°C increase in temperatures as a result of climate change, which will in turn have serious potential impacts on its natural ecosystems, river basins, watersheds and biodiversity, as the 2013-2020 Jordan Climate Change Policy has suggested.