Jordan: Red Sea desalination plant to be up and running by 2010

The Kingdom’s first desalination plant is expected to be operational by 2010, annually supplying the port city of Aqaba with 10 million cubic metres (mcm) of water, a senior Aqaba Water Company (AWC) official said last 4th August.

The AWC signed an agreement yesterday with Bank Muscat to study the establishment of a desalination plant on Aqaba’s southern coast to desalinate Red Sea water.

The plant will start supplying current and future investments along the southern shore with water by the second half of 2010, Zreikat said, adding that the project’s designs will also enable it to supply the central and northern shores if needed.

The plant also aims to serve as an additional water source in case of emergencies. In February 2006, Aqaba suffered a severe water shortage due to damage sustained by the main pipeline in flash floods. Water supplies to the port city were cut off for around 10 days as rehabilitation work on the damaged pipeline was hampered by stones and mud that had clogged parts of the water network, the company director said.Meanwhile, Minister of Water and Irrigation Raed Abu Saud, who was also present at the signing, underscored the importance of the project, noting that it comes as part of the country’s water strategy.

Once complete, the plant will also help reduce pressure on the Disi aquifer, the minister added.

ASEZ water consumption totals 15.5mcm annually and is expected to exceed 20mcm in the next few years due to area expansion and development, Zreikat said.

Zreikat said the company has also floated tenders to dig three new wells in the Disi aquifer.

The Disi aquifer will be the capital's main source of water in less than four years, as the $1 million Disi Water Conveyance Project was launched on Sunday.

The project is expected to supply Amman with 100mcm of water annually.