A 20 Million Euros grant to support the expansion and rehabilitation of municipal wastewater collection and treatment systems in Balqa and Ramtha

The first is a grant provided by the European Union through its Neighborhood Investment Platform (NIP) mechanism. The 15 million euros grant provided by the EU and delegated to AFD is part of a 75 million euros financing package provided by AFD to the Government of Jordan to support the development of a new wastewater collection and treatment project in the Balqa Governorate. The project aims at increasing the collection and treatment capacity of the existing wastewater system and, within a planned second phase of the project, will allow it to expand to cover unserved areas east of As-salt city. 

Currently more than 100 000 inhabitants remain unserved by wastewater services within the planned project area, and the existing wastewater treatment is operating beyond its design capacity. The unserved households within the project area dispose their wastewaters into cesspits that percolate into the ground without any appropriate treatment, which constitutes major health risks and environmental pollution in the midst of populated areas. Moreover, the existing treatment plant produces offensive odors causing nuisance to surrounding communities.

The project will provide a new treatment plant that will replace the existing overloaded treatment plant. The new plant, which will be located close to the King Tala dam (KTD), will provide the treatment capacity of 36,000 cubic meters per day, expandable to 54,000 cubic meters per day by 2042, to produce effluent treated to the required standards. The project will also provide new trunks that will connect the existing network to the new wastewater treatment plant. In a future phase, such arrangement will allow the development of a phase 2, which will comprise up to 300 kms of wastewater collection networks. 

Moreover, the treatment plant will discharge the treated effluent to the dam’s lake; after mixing with the other water resources, the treated effluent will contribute to the agricultural irrigation in the Jordan valley downstream of the KTD. The project will make available 13 million m3/year of wastewater effluent treated to irrigation standards, which will result in freeing equivalent quantities of freshwater, currently used for irrigation, to be reallocated for drinking purposes. 

In addition to its adaptation component, the project will operate in a climate compatible manner. It is designed to valorize the biogas produced by the treatment process and hydraulic energy to generate electricity sufficient to cover up to 75% of its operational needs.

The second EUR 5,3 million grant, from the French Government is part of a financing package of EUR 98.6,  including up to EUR 80 million funds provided by AFD,  and up to EUR 18.5 million by the European Union,  to finance the Ramtha and Sahel Horan wastewater project. The Ramtha and Sahel Horan wastewater Project aims at developing the wastewater system and expand its capacity to serve 180,000 people by the end of 2030, with an increase by 61% of the number of beneficiaries of wastewater services in the region. The Ramtha treatment plant expansion will be implemented in two phases to reach a capacity of 22,000 cubic meters per day compared to the current capacity of 5,400.

The treated water will be conveyed through 8-km trunk line to Wadi Shalala wastewater treatment plant and then to the King Abdullah Canal to feed the agricultural sectors in the Jordan Valley. The project includes in its first phase a wastewater treatment plant with a capacity of 11,000 cubic meters per day and a power plant using biogas resulting from the treatment process. The project also aims in the first phase to implement 100 kilometers of wastewater collection networks and four pumping stations to transport the wastewater to the wastewater treatment plant.

The grant from AFD comes in a total amount of 10 million euros to address the needs in sanitation services of vulnerable Jordanian communities and Syrian refugees living in the project area. The grant will finance the implementation of wastewater connections to buildings, connect them to the wastewater network and rehabilitate in-house WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) facilities. The number of beneficiaries will reach up to 3,700 resident, buildings, schools, and government health centers. 

This project is funded by the Minka Middle East Initiative, through which AFD has been helping mitigate fragilities in countries close to Syria and Iraq since 2017 so as to reduce the risks of conflict spilling over to the two countries.

“These two projects are part of the French Development Agency’s support to the Government of Jordan to build a resilient water sector and to achieve a sustainable national water resources management. They are also aligned with Jordan’s strategy to safeguard its environment and national resources and are part of Jordan’s Action Plan to achieve its National determined Contribution towards the Paris Agreement. Last, these projects are in line with AFD strategic priorities in Jordan of managing shared spaces and resources in a sustainable and inclusive manner”, commented Luc Le Cabellec, AFD director for Jordan and Iraq.

In fourteen years of operations in Jordan starting 2006, AFD has established itself as a major partner in the cooperation landscape. AFD’s activities principally focus on two main themes: the management of natural constraints (water and energy) and economic and social development (support for local and urban development). AFD have financed a wide range of projects and technical assistances for a total amount of EUR 1.8bn of commitments at the end of 2020. AFD’s engagement in the water sector constitutes 52% of its total engagement. 

Contact project: Yazan Bagaeen ; Hassan Alseaf 

Contact communication: Nada Haddad