Amman, Sept. 14 (Petra) -- The Ain Ghazal preliminary wastewater treatment plant is set for expansion and rehabilitation under two new grant agreements signed with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

The agreements, concluded at the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, were signed by Minister Zeina Touqan on behalf of the government, Minister of Water and Irrigation Raed Abu Saud for the Water Authority, and Gretchen Biery, EBRD Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean and Head of the Bank’s Amman office.

Touqan explained that the first grant, an investment grant, is valued at USD 3 million, while the second, a technical assistance grant, totals EUR 708,700, bringing overall technical support to EUR 1.265 million. Both grants are funded through the Bank’s Shareholders Special Fund. They complement an earlier USD 11.25 million concessional loan signed in January 2023 with the EBRD to support the project.

According to Abu Saud, the financing will raise the plant’s capacity to 726,712 cubic meters per day, enabling it to handle projected flows through 2045. He highlighted the project’s strategic role in supporting the National Water Carrier Project, which will desalinate and transfer water from Aqaba to Amman.

Touqan thanked the Bank for its sustained support of Jordan’s development priorities, while Biery reaffirmed the EBRD’s commitment: "By expanding the Ain Ghazal preliminary treatment plant, we will improve wastewater services for more than three million people and ensure sufficient capacity to meet Jordan’s needs through 2045." //Petra// RZ