Jordan

Jordan is one of the Middle East countries with the scarcest water resources, which do not meet the needs of populations and economic activities. In this highly strategic sector, the Jordanian Government has set the priority of improving the duration of water distribution to its population. This objective will be achieved by increasing the production capacity, improving the output on drinking water distribution networks and developing treated wastewater. 

Since 2006, AFD has been supporting the Ministry of Water and Irrigation and its two authorities, the Water Authority of Jordan and Jordan Valley Authority, through technical and financial assistance. We contribute to financing large-scale infrastructure projects which increase production, transfer drinking water to inhabited regions and treat wastewater. We also support public water policy reforms. 

As a result, 80% of the population has benefited from improved access to water and a more regular supply thanks to AFD-funded projects.

Thanks to the Disi project, the duration of water distribution in Amman has risen from 45 hours a week to 60 hours.

Jordan may not have oil, but it does have ideas. An ambitious policy for energy efficiency and renewable energy development has been implemented to achieve the country’s energy transition. In addition to contributing to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, this policy is improving the country’s energy independence and reducing the cost of its hydrocarbon imports. It is thereby limiting the impact of the revaluation of the price of energy on households.

In Jordan, AFD finances solar and wind renewable energy projects and energy efficiency projects, strengthens distribution infrastructure and supports public policy reforms. 
25% of the country’s total renewable energy capacity, i.e. 141 MW, has been cofinanced by AFD, including by its private sector financing arm, PROPARCO.

The country’s economic growth is unevenly distributed and is combined with development gaps between regions and between municipalities. The Jordanian Government has set out to reduce these economic disparities on its territory by conducting a local development policy to strengthen municipal governance and public service provision, with a focus on public transport. 

AFD finances transport infrastructure projects both at national and municipal level (BRT – Bus Rapid Transit in Amman). We are also supporting public policy reform in this sector. 

100% of municipalities have benefitted from the municipal small-scale investments program. By 2020, the 150 rapid buses in Amman will be carrying 315,000 passengers a day.

The regional crises in Iraq and Syria place a heavy burden on Jordan, which is making an unparalleled solidarity effort to host refugees, who are mainly Syrian. In 2017, it was estimated that there are almost a million Syrian refugees in Jordan, i.e. 10% of the country’s population, of which only 655,000 are registered with UNHCR. 85% of them live in cities in the North (Irbid, Mafraq, Ajloun and Jerash), as well as in the capital Amman. They benefit from access to public services (education, health), which places an additional burden on the State.

Our operations contribute to the resilience of all vulnerable populations affected by the crisis: host communities, which are frequently disadvantaged, and refugees, who share similar features of fragility and whose needs are a matter of both humanitarian assistance and development. Since 2014, AFD has been financing projects implemented by NGOs, with grant resources from France or the European Union’s Madad Fund.

More generally, all our projects take into account the psychosocial risks and needs for basic services (water, health, education) of these vulnerable populations. 

France has launched an initiative for the Middle East, SAWA, which is designed to address the resilience issues of this regional crisis. AFD supports projects for access to employment via vocational training for vulnerable populations through this initiative.